


Knight in Brown Leather

by Jellybean96



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Crime Family AU, F/M, Friendship, Gang AU, Hydra as a gang, Melinda May is Skye's Mother, Phil Coulson & Melinda May are Skye's Parents, Phil Coulson is Skye's Father, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-08-30 11:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 86,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8531959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: He's supposed to be a tough, ruthless member of the Hydra gang. And he is. That's who he is. Until a beautiful, no nonsense computer and technology whiz rolls into town and changes all that. To most, it seems like a pretty unconventional relationship. But to them, it works.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a brand new story for ya! I'm really, really excited to share this one with all of you. I got the idea a while back and I've been working on hammering out some chapters. I wanted to wait until I had a good amount of chapters written, as well as a solid plan for this story before I posted something. So here I am, with a the first installment of this new story.
> 
> This first chapter is just a prologue, to give you a little taste, allow you to dip your toes in. I promise all the following chapters are going to be much longer as the story goes. I don't like writing super small chapters unless it's supposed to be a drabble or something.
> 
> But anyways, I'm so excited to bring you this story, and if you follow me on Tumblr and have seen my updates then you know how excited I am. I've got some really great chapters in store for this and I can't for you guys to read them.
> 
> There are more characters in this story and they will be added as the story progresses. As will any other tags I decide to put.
> 
> And so, without further ado, I give you the Prologue for Knight in Brown Leather. :)

Hearing her phone go off in her back pocket, Skye pulls the device out and looks at the screen to see her dad's name and photo flashing on it.

Smiling, she hits the answer call button and holds the phone up to her ear.

"Hello, dad."

_"Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing?"_

"The same as when you called me an hour ago," she tells him.

_"Right, of course. So how'd your interview go?"_

Skye takes a deep breath. "I actually think it went pretty well. I just have to wait to hear back from them. But I have a pretty good feeling about this job."

_"Well that's good. I'm really glad."_

"Thanks. I'm just a little nervous. I wish you and mom were here with me."

_"I know you do. But you said you wanted to move there on your own, 'to pave your way' as you put it."_

Skye sighs. "Yeah, I know I said that."

_"I just wish you hadn't moved to such a sketchy town."_

"Dad, seriously? I cannot believe you just used the word 'sketchy' in a sentence like that." She lets out a small laugh.

_"Skye, I'm being serious here. Your mother and I are worried about you."_

"You know you don't have to throw mom under the bus, dad. I know it's you who's the most worried."

_"Can you really blame me?"_

"No, I guess I can't. But I promise you I'm fine, dad," Skye says into her cell phone as she makes her way down the sidewalk, hiking her laptop bag higher up onto her shoulder. "I'm actually on my way to my car right now so I can go home. I had to park a little further away than I would have liked because there was literally no where to park at the company I interviewed at."

_"Please be careful, sweetheart."_

Skye rolls her eyes. "Dad, I'm twenty-four, I'm a big girl. I think I'll be okay."

_"You're new to that city, Skye. I just want you to stay safe."_

"I'll do my best," she tells him. "I'm going to hang up now. Bye."

_"Bye."_

Pulling her phone down from her ear, Skye ends the call and slides her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.

As she continues to make her way down the sidewalk, Skye feels something bump against her shoulder, knocking her slightly off balance.

"Hey!" She whips around to see a tall man with dark hair in a black leather jacket swaggering away from her, two other dark haired men walking with him, one in a black leather jacket and the other in a brown one. "Watch where you're going, jerk," she calls after the tallest one.

The man in question turns around to smirk at her and shrugs. "Didn't see you there."

"Like hell you didn't," she retorts. "Just watch where you're going next time."

The man just holds his hands up in mock surrender before turning around and walking away from her, the other two following quickly after him.

Skye scoffs as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder again. "Jerk."

* * *

Leaning casually against a large brick wall, Grant scrolls through the texts on his phone, replying to the occasional one as he waits.

"How much longer are we going to wait?"

Grant turns his head towards his younger brother. "Relax, Andrew, he should be done soon. You know it usually doesn't take that long. But only if the people are cooperative."

Andrew sighs. "I know. I'm just hungry."

Grant chuckles. "You'll be fine until Joey's done." He turns his attention back to his phone screen.

"Thank you so much for your cooperation, sir. It will be taken into consideration when you are due for your next collection. But probably not."

Grant looks up and rolls his eyes when he hears the voice of his older brother drifting through the open shop door next to him.

"Oh man, that guy was so completely scared out of his mind," Joey says as he exits the shop. "You two really should have seen it. It was hilarious."

"Did he give you the collection?" Grant asks his older brother as he pushes off the brick wall, he and Andrew following him down the sidewalk.

"Of course he did," Joey replies with a small laugh. "He'd be an idiot not to. You know that."

Grant nods. "Right. Of course."

"Dude. Where's your head at today, Grant?" Joey asks him. "You've been so out of it since we left the main road earlier."

Grant sighs. "I honestly have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine." He reaches out and grabs a shiny red apple off of the stands next to him as he walks. He brings it to his mouth and takes a bite out of it.

"I don't know, man," Joey says, letting out a breath. "And I don't really care enough to guess."

Grant nods. "Obviously."

"Grant."

He turns his head towards his younger brother.

"Yeah?"

Andrew takes a small step closer to him, lowering his voice. "You uh, you know that if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here for you. Always will be."

Grant just looks at his brother for a moment before he rolls his eyes. "Andrew, how long have you known me?"

"Uh, my whole life."

"And has there ever been a point where I wanted to sit down and tell you all my deep dark secrets?"

"Not really, no, but I just thought—"

"Well stop doing that." He reaches out and lightly smacks his brother on the back of the head. "Now shut up and keep walking."

 


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye's first day of work, she meets some friendly faces. And she also learns a thing or two about her new town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! So, I don't actually have a set schedule of when and how often I'll be updating this, but I was feeling generous today cause it's been a pretty good day for me. Thank you so much for all the love so far. It really means a lot.
> 
> So now, here's the first chapter. Enjoy. :)

Skye takes a deep breath as she stands outside the front doors of the tall office building, watching her reflection carefully in the smooth glass in front of her. "Don't be nervous," she says quietly to herself, using her image in the large glass window to adjust her jacket. "You've got this, you can totally do this. You've worked hard for your degree, all those long nights spent in your dorm room coding. You've one hundred percent earned this. You one hundred percent deserve this."

"First day?"

Skye startles, one hand flying up to her chest as she jumps slightly. Turning her head to side she sees a man with dark hair and skin standing next to her, a small smile on his face.

She gives him a shy smile. "Am I that obvious?"

He gives her a smile back. "Only slightly."

Skye lets out a breath and a small laugh, looking down at the sidewalk before looking back up at the man. "Sorry. I'm just a little nervous, that's all. This is my first really big job since graduating."

"It's fine," he tells her. "I was pretty nervous when I first started here too." He holds his hand out to her. "I'm Antoine Triplett, but all my friends just call me Trip. I work in Human Resources."

Skye accepts his hand and gives it a firm shake. "Skye Coulson, IT Department."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Skye Coulson. And you can consider me as your first official friend here at SHIELD Industries."

Skye gives him a smile. "Nice to meet you too, Trip. And I have a feeling that you and I are going to be really great friends."

He smiles back at her. "I think so too." He gestures to the front doors. "Can I walk you inside?"

Skye smiles and nods. "I'd like that, thanks."

Trip moves towards the front doors and grabs one of the handles, pulling on the door and holding it open to allow Skye to step through into the spacious lobby. He steps in behind her and lets the door swing shut, making his way towards the front reception desk.

"My main man, Eric." Trip smiles brightly at the man sitting behind the desk, removing the badge clipped to his vest and handing it over across the desk.

Eric smiles back at him as he takes the badge. "Good morning, Antoine. How are you this morning?"

"Pretty good, thanks. You?"

"As well as I can be. Here you go." He hands Trip's ID badge back over to him then looks over at Skye and smiles at her. "You must be our newest employee."

She nods once. "Skye Coulson. Starting today in the IT Department."

"Eric Koenig. Front desk, past five years."

Skye smiles kindly. "It's nice to meet you, Eric."

"You as well. Do you have your ID badge with you?"

"Yes," Skye says, starting to dig through her bag. "Here it is." She pulls the badge out of her bag and hands it over to Eric.

"Thank you," he says, taking it from her. "Are you excited to be starting work here?" he asks her.

Skye nods. "Yeah, I am. I'm also really glad that I was able to get a job so quickly after moving here."

"I'm sure you are," Eric says with a smile. He hands her ID badge back over to her. "There you are. All set for your first day here at SHIELD Industries."

Skye smiles back at him as she takes her badge and clips it to the bottom of her dress shirt. "Great, thanks so much, Eric." She looks over at Trip. "Wanna take the elevator up together?"

Trip smiles at her. "I'd be honored." He takes a step to the side and holds his hand out in front of him. "After you."

"Thank you." Skye smiles at him and then moves past him towards the elevators. Trip quickly falls into step beside her as they walk.

"So where'd you move here from?" Trip asks her as they stand waiting for the elevator car to arrive.

"California," she tells him.

"Wait wait wait, hang on a minute." He turns to face her. "You're telling me that you actually moved from California to Massachusetts? Why would you do that? Do you know how lucky you are to have lived in California? It's amazing there."

Skye shrugs. "I grew up in California, lived there my whole life. It's all I've ever known. I wanted something different for a while. Massachusetts seemed like a pretty good fit. Plus, this company is amazing. I was kind of banking on them hiring me when I moved here."

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, allowing the pair to step inside.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing they did," Trip tells her, leaning over to press the button for the Human Resources floor followed by the one for the IT Department floor.

Skye nods in agreement. "Yes it most certainly is. I just hope I can prove myself quickly enough, really show them what it is I can do."

"And you'll definitely get your chance," he assures her. "You just gotta work hard and make sure they know that, to you, no task is too much for you to handle and that you're willing to give everything your all."

"That's some pretty sound advice."

"Well you can thank my Nana for that one," Trip smiles. "She's always chalk full of good advice."

The elevator stops and the doors open, revealing the Human Resources Department.

Trip steps across the doorway and turns back around to face Skye, setting his hand in the doorway to keep it open.

"What are you doing for lunch?" he asks her.

"Huh?"

"I asked what you're doing for lunch," he repeats.

"Oh, right. I uh, I brought my lunch today." She holds a reusable lunch bag up for him to see.

He nods. "I see that. Well, why don't you meet me in the break room on the fourth floor, considering it's the only one here, and I'll introduce you to a couple friends of mine. I think you'll really like them."

Skye smiles. "That'd be great, thanks. I'll definitely be there."

Trip smiles back. "Awesome. Well I'll see you at lunch, then."

She nods. "Yeah."

Trip removes his hand from inside the door and then slowly backs away with a smile, eventually turning around to make his way down the hallway as the elevator doors close again.

...

Stepping out of the elevator when the car stops and the doors slide open, Skye clutches her lunch bag in her hands and makes her way down the hallway of the fourth floor towards the break room.

Stopping in the doorway to the room, Skye leans in and looks around the room for Trip. Eventually spotting him sitting at a table in the corner with two other people, a smile on all their faces as they talk and laugh, she can't help the smile that comes across her own face.

Skye takes a moment to breath in deeply before moving into the room and over towards the table in the back.

"Trip," she speaks up, catching the man's attention.

Trip looks up at her and smiles. "Skye, hey. Glad you decided to join us."

"Me too," she says.

"Well there's a seat right here next to me that's especially for you." He pulls out an empty plastic chair and pats the seat of it.

"Thanks," she says, moving to sit down in the chair, setting her lunch bag down on the table in front of her.

"Alright," Trip speaks up, turning slightly to face Skye. "These are two of my best friends at the company, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, from the Research and Development Department." He gestures to the two people sitting across from them at the table. "FitzSimmons, this is Skye, from the IT Department. She's new, today's her first day."

"Well, welcome to the company," the woman, Jemma, speaks up with a bright smile.

"Thanks," Skye says back with a smile. She looks at Trip. "And did you seriously just call them _FitzSimmons_? Like, putting their last names together?"

Trip nods. "Yeah. Everybody here calls them that." He smiles over at his friends. "They are the dynamic duo of the R&D Department."

Skye nods. "Good to know." She takes a deep breath. "So, how long have all of you worked here?"

"Fitz and I have been here for a little over five years," Jemma tells her.

"And I've been here for about seven," Trip says.

"And you guys all like it here?" she asks.

"It's nice," Fitz tells her. "The pay is really great too."

"Not gonna lie, that was actually one of the deciding factors for me wanting to work here," Skye tells them with a smile.

"You're not the only one, girl," Trip says to her with a small laugh. "Most of the people here wanted to work here 'cause the money's so good. We all ended up staying on so long 'cause we love the environment."

Skye smiles. "Well that's definitely good to know. Glad I'm not the only one."

"So do you think you'll be here for a while, then?" Jemma asks her.

Skye looks between the three other adults and nods her head. "Yeah, I think I will be. It was a little tough at first moving here. It was just me and my parents back home, so now that I'm gone they're pretty much all alone. I just worry about them a little."

"Well I'm sure they'll be perfectly fine without you," Jemma tells her.

"Yeah," Fitz agrees. "I'm sure they'll be able to come up with something to keep themselves occupied since you're away."

"You're right," Skye says, opening up her bag and pulling out her lunch. "I shouldn't worry so much about them. They're both adults, they've lived full lives. They can take care of themselves. What I should focus on right now is my work and really getting settled in here."

Trip nods. "Yes you should. In fact, sometimes after work the three of us like to hit up Starbucks for coffee before going home. We're planning on going out tomorrow. You should join us."

Skye smiles. "That'd be really great. Thanks."

Trip smiles back. "Anytime. You're one of us now."

Skye just laughs quietly before turning to her food and starting to eat.

* * *

"It's too bad Fitz couldn't join us," Trip says to Jemma as the two of them and Skye sit outside a local Starbucks. "I know how much he loves his caffeine after a long day of working in the lab."

"Yes, it is a shame," Jemma replies. "I tried convincing him to come with us, but he said he has some important work to finish up. He said he'll before sure to join us next time, though."

"I'm gonna hold him to that," Trip says with a smile.

"I'm sure you will," Jemma replies. "You really need to stop pestering him so much, though."

"Aw, come on," Trip says. "It's all in good fun, you know that. And he knows it too."

"Yes, well, you know how he can get."

Trip sighs. "Fine. I'll lay off him a little."

Jemma nods once. "Thank you. I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

"Hey, Jemma, Trip?" Skye speaks up to her friends.

"Yes?" Jemma responds as Trip throws out a "Yeah?", both of them turning their heads to look at her.

"Who are those guys over there?" she asks them, gesturing with her head to across the street.

Jemma and Trip both look over and freeze.

"Why do you want to know about them?" Jemma asks.

"I uh, I saw them the other morning after my interview at SHIELD when I was walking down the sidewalk," Skye tells her. "The tall one in the black jacket bumped into me and didn't even apologize afterwards when I called him out on it. He just made it out like he didn't even see me when I'm pretty sure that he did."

"Well I wouldn't expect an apology from him any time soon," Trip tells her. "Or at all, really."

Skye furrows her brows. "What? Why not?"

"Because he's one of the Ward's."

"And?" Skye asks.

"Local crime family," Jemma explains. "Their father is the leader of Hydra, the local gang. They pull quite a few young kids and teens into their gang every so often. Loads of people are in it, but the Ward's are the main bunch who run things within the group. Hydra controls pretty much everything on the northern end of the city. They have everyone there completely terrified for their lives."

"And nobody's thought to move out of the area?" she asks.

Jemma shakes her head. "They're all too scared. And most of them don't have enough money to move anywhere else. So they're basically stuck there while Hydra keeps them living in fear."

"Well what exactly does Hydra do?"

"Drug trafficking and smuggling, mostly, I think," Trip says. "Both in and out of the country. But they do some other smaller things as well. Harass local people and businesses for the hell of it. Collect money from the smaller stores and shops which they consider a tax for owning a business around here. Most cops won't even go near the northern side of town. I can only think of a handful that will. And even then, they still try to avoid going there unless they have a very specific reason to do so."

"And that guy over there is the leader's son?" Skye asks, looking back across the street.

Jemma nods. "All three of them are. Joey's the oldest, the tall one in the black jacket. Andrew's the youngest, the other one in black. And then there's Grant, the one in the brown leather jacket."

"Why is he in brown and the other two in black?"

Jemma shrugs. "No one really knows. He just is. He's probably the most ruthless one out of everyone in Hydra, though. Everyone thinks Joey's the worst, considering his temper, but Grant's done some pretty horrible stuff in Hydra's name. Put away more bodies than anyone can count."

"So those three just go around the city terrorizing and killing people?" Skye asks, watching as the three men hang around the outside of one of the shops across the street, harassing people as they walk by, all while drinking bottles of beer.

Jemma nods. "Pretty much. Though Andrew doesn't do a whole lot of terrorizing, he's just kind of there."

"And no one's done anything about them?"

Trip shakes his head. "No one really can. Like Jemma said, they control most everything in the northern part of the city. The police avoid having to go there as much as they possibly can; it really sucks for the people who live there."

"That's insane," Skye says.

"That's how it is around here," Jemma replies.

"How long has it been like this?" Skye asks.

"Since their dad was a kid, I think," Trip says. "Maybe even earlier than that. Some people think that the grandfather started it. Some think it might have been earlier. Some think they've always had their hands in some of the businesses and other things around here but they just waited for a while before making themselves really known. Either way, it's pretty bad."

"Wow," Skye says, not really knowing what else she can say at that moment after hearing everything.

"I know. It's horrible," Jemma says with a slight shake of her head. "They're all such terrible people. I wish someone would just run the whole lot of them out of town one day. But that is probably never going to happen, as unfortunate as it may be."

"What a shame," Skye mumbles under her breath, her attention still on the three guys across the street.

As she's watching them, the one in the brown jacket, Grant, looks her way and locks eyes with her.

She sees him toss her a smirk and she quickly looks away, focusing way too hard on the cup of coffee in her hands, trying her best to ignore the heat she feels immediately rushing up to her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Now Skye knows all about Hydra and the Ward's. And Grant has noticed her too. What's to come? Stay tuned. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two run ins with Hydra, a date proposal, and piqued curiosity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Thanks for all the love so far on this story. Glad you're all enjoying it. :)
> 
> Now, enjoy!

* * *

"How was your meal for you, miss?"

"It was really great, Vinny, thanks," Skye says to the waiter, looking up at him and throwing him a kind smile. "Exactly what I needed today."

"Trouble with what you're working on there?" he asks, gesturing to her laptop.

Skye shrugs. "Nothing I can't handle."

Vinny smiles. "Glad to hear your work's treating you well."

"As well as it can be when you consider I've only been there for about a week."

Vinny nods. "Very true. Well, I'll leave you to your work. Feel free to stay for however long you need. And let me know if you need anything else while you're typing away."

"I will. Thanks, Vinny," she says to him, watching as the waiter turns around and makes his way back inside the cafe.

Skye turns back to her laptop and focuses her attention on the program running on her screen, typing a few more lines of code into it.

"What the—no! Damn it," Skye mutters angrily when the battery of her laptop suddenly dies, her computer screen going completely black. "This seriously has to happen to me right now?"

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Skye says, not looking up from her computer. "My laptop just died while I was working on something really important for my job and I can't remember if I actually saved what I was doing."

"Well that's certainly too bad. Maybe I can take a look at it for you."

"I said it died, so unless you have a power cord I can use, then you really can't—" she cuts herself off when she looks up and sees who's standing in front of her. "You're Grant Ward," she states, looking directly at the man in front of her; the bright sun behind him casting shadows on his face, illuminating the sharpness of his cheekbones.

"So you've heard of me, then," he says with a smirk on his face, leaning forward and resting his hands on the table.

"I've been told some things," she responds, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh? Like what?" he asks.

"That you go around harassing innocent people in this city and don't care who gets hurt while doing it. And that you've killed a lot of people without even one ounce of remorse."

"You don't know the half of it," he tells her. "I could tell you more though, over drinks sometime."

Skye closes the lid of her laptop and picks it up, standing from her chair. "Sorry," she says, pulling her bag up onto her shoulder, "but I try not to go out with egotistical scumbags who like to harass people just for fun. So how about you go off somewhere else and find some overeager blond bimbo with no standards whatsoever to get drunk and fool around with, because I'm not that kind of girl."

"You sure about that?" Grant asks her. "'Cause I uh, I saw you with your friends at that Starbucks. You looked away when you saw me. I know you want me."

Skye scoffs. "Yeah, in your dreams."

He grins and gives her a wink. "I'll see you there."

Skye just rolls her eyes at him, turns around and walks away from, ignoring the stares and whispers directed at her from people nearby.

She keeps walking down the sidewalk, despite some of the guys with Grant calling after her.

The sooner she gets home, the better.

* * *

"Excuse me, but uh, you're in my seat."

Skye raises her head from her phone to look at the tall blonde man standing in front of her. She furrows her brows slightly. "What?"

"I said you're in my seat," he repeats.

"How do you know it's yours?" she asks him. "Maybe you just think it's yours, but in reality you're actually completely wrong."

The man is silent for a moment before gesturing to the other end of the table. "My books are right there where I left them when I went to go use the bathroom."

Skye turns her head to see a neat stack of medical books sitting against the wall. She looks back at the man. "Oh, wow. I am so sorry. I'm such an idiot."

He shakes his head. "You're not. Just a little unobservant at the moment, that's all."

She gives him a small smile. "Well thanks for that assessment."

He smiles back. "You're welcome."

"So, medical books. You a doctor?" she asks him.

The man sighs and nods, sitting down in the chair across from her. "That's the current plan. I'm in medical school right now."

Skye nods. "Ah. Well, good luck with all that."

"Thanks. I'm Lincoln, by the way."

"Skye."

"That's a beautiful name," he tells her.

She gives him a small smile. "Thanks. My parents seem to think so too."

"I'm sure they're great parents."

"They really are. Some of the best ones I know."

"Skye Coulson? Coffee order for Skye Coulson?"

"And that would be my cue," she says, standing from her chair and sliding her phone into her back pocket. "Those are the coffees for my some of my coworkers."

"They've got you stuck doing coffee runs for the foreseeable future?" Lincoln asks.

Skye nods. "Unfortunately, yes. That does seem to be the case right now." She moves to the counter and accepts the tray of drinks. She tosses a quick and polite 'thank you' to the barista before turning back to face Lincoln. "New girl at work, have to start somewhere, right?"

Lincoln smiles and nods. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Things are quiet between them for a moment before Skye speaks up, "Well, it was really great to meet you, Lincoln, but I should probably be getting back to the office with all of these drinks before they get cold." She gestures to the tray of drinks in her hands.

He nods. "Right. But uh, could I, maybe, take you out to dinner Friday night?"

"Oh. I uh, I don't know." She hikes her bag up a little higher on her shoulder.

"Please?" he asks. "Lately all I've been focused on is memorizing diagnoses and illnesses; I think I might actually be melting my brain because of it. A nice dinner with a beautiful woman is exactly what I need. Just one dinner, that's it."

Skye purses her lips in thought. "Fine. Friday night at 7. That cute Italian place on the corner. I'll meet you there."

Lincoln smiles. "It's a date."

Skye smiles back. "See you then." She turns around and pushes through the doors of the café, making her way down the sidewalk.

* * *

Stepping through the front door of the large office building, Skye makes her way up to the front desk, pulling her ID badge off of the hem of her shirt.

"Hey Eric." She smiles at the man sitting behind the desk.

"Good morning, Miss Coulson," Eric smiles back, accepting her badge.

"Eric, I've told you before to call me Skye. The Miss Coulson thing is way too formal for my liking."

Eric smiles and nods. "Of course." He hands her badge back to her across the top of the desk. "Here you go, Miss Co—Skye."

Skye takes the badge from him and clips it to the bottom of her shirt again with a smile. "Thank you, Eric. Have a good day."

"You too," Eric calls after her as she makes her way towards the elevators.

When she reaches the elevators she presses the button on the wall and waits for the car to arrive.

Once it does, the doors open and Skye steps inside, letting the doors close behind her, leaning over to press the number four button.

She pulls her phone out and checks her e-mails as she waits for the car to reach the correct floor.

When the elevator comes to a stop and the doors slide open, Skye steps out and slides her cell phone into her back pocket.

Making her way down the hallway she greets a few of the people she sees along the way as she goes towards the break room.

"Hey, Jemma." Skye smiles when she sees her friend as she walks into the room.

"Hello, Skye," Jemma replies from her spot at one of the tables, scrolling through her phone. "How are you?"

"Pretty good," Skye breathes out, moving over to the water cooler to get a drink. "You?"

"Doing alright. Although, I did hear about something quite interesting that happened and I wanted to ask you about it in person but I haven't had the chance to talk to you until now."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Been really busy down in IT so I haven't been able to come in here for lunch." Skye turns towards her and leans back against the set of lockers. "But I'm in here now. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Jemma begins slowly, "apparently there was a dark haired woman with a laptop sitting outside a coffee shop the other day and she told off Grant Ward. The person I heard it from believes it to have been you." Jemma pauses and looks up at her friend. "Skye, please tell me that it wasn't you."

Skye takes a deep breath. "Well unless there was another dark haired girl with a laptop at that coffee shop then it was definitely me," Skye tells her friend with a small smile.

Jemma sighs. "Why are you smiling?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Skye asks, pushing off of the lockers and moving towards Jemma. "I told off one of the, supposedly, worst guys in town. Something that I'm assuming no one else here has ever had the balls to do."

"And for good reason too," Jemma tells her. "Hydra, especially the Ward's, can make your life a living hell if you piss them off. There are plenty of people in this city who will attest to that. Just not in court because they're too afraid of what'll happen to them if they speak out against Hydra."

"I'm not scared of them, Jemma. Especially not that Grant Ward character."

"Yeah? Well maybe you should be. They're terrible people who do terrible things to completely innocent people."

"I'm a big girl; I can handle myself just fine."

Jemma stands from the table and takes a few steps towards Skye. She looks at her friend and takes a deep breath, adjusting her jacket. "Well then, if you can handle yourself so well, don't come crawling to me if they start harassing you and you find you can't take it anymore." She turns around and makes her way out of the break room, leaving Skye alone with her thoughts.

* * *

" _You've reached Jemma Simmons. Unfortunately I am unable to come to the phone at the moment, but if you would please leave your name and phone number I will promise to get back to you as soon as I possibly can. Thank you very much."_

"Hey, Jemma," Skye says into her cell phone after the voicemail beeps as she makes her way down the sidewalk. "Could you call me, please? I didn't get the chance to talk to you at all at work today, but I feel really bad about how we left things. We've just barely met and I don't think I'm ever going to like being in a fight or argument with you. I already have my dad being super overprotective of me all the time; I really don't need it from you too. Please call me. I'll see you soon, bye."

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Skye ends the call and goes into her text messages. She opens up the one to her dad and begins typing _We'll Skype when I get home. Just making a quick stop first. Let you know when I'm home. Love you._

She hits send on the message and then slides the phone into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Hey, where are you going, sweetheart?"

Stopping in her tracks, Skye turns around to see a small group of guys making their way towards her.

"Come here a minute," the tall bald guy at the front of the group says, a hint of a smirk on his face. "We just wanna talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to you," she replies, turning back around.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on a minute."

Skye looks down to see the guy's hand wrapped around her upper arm. He spins her around quickly to face him.

"That wasn't a suggestion," he says, getting down close to her face.

"Let go of me," Skye tells him, struggling to break free of his hold. His grip only tightens.

"We heard you were dissing on our boy the other day," the guy says. "And _nobody_ disses our boy. Not even a fine little piece like yourself. See, 'cause when you disrespect _one_ of us, you disrespect _all_ of us." He grabs a chunk of her hair in his other hand, messing with it for a moment. "But uh, I'm sure we can think of some way for you to make it up to us."

The group of guys behind him all laugh.

"You're hurting me," she tells him, still trying to break free. "Let go of my arm."

"No, I don't think that I will. And you can't do anything about it."

"But I can."

All the heads turn to see Grant stepping out of a nearby shop, making his way towards them. "I go inside for five minutes to collect from the shop owner and I come back to see you harassing someone without my approval? What the hell's the matter with you, Kebo?"

"This is the girl who disrespected you," the guy holding onto Skye's arm tells him.

"Do I look blind to you?" Grant says. "I'm not an idiot, Kebo, I know who she is. Now let her go."

"But—"

Grant takes a step towards the man. "Did I stutter? Or are you just deaf? I said, let her go." He emphasizes each of the three words with a sharp jab to Kebo's chest.

Kebo hesitates for a moment before reluctantly unwrapping his hand from around Skye's arm.

She quickly pulls her arm towards her body and rubs at the area of her upper arm, taking a few steps away from the group.

"Now take these and get out of here." Grant shoves a six pack of beer and a crinkled white envelope at one of the other guys in front of him. "I'll be back there soon." All the guys just stand there.

Grant shifts on his feet and puts one of his hands on his waistband. "Do you _want_ me to shoot all of you in the face? Go. Now."

The men all grumble to themselves before turning away and making their way down the sidewalk.

Grant turns towards Skye, removing his hand from his waistband, and takes a small step towards her. "Are you okay?" he asks her.

"I'm fine," she snaps.

Grant takes a step back and holds his hands up. "Hey, whoa. Just trying to help. All those guys are extremely loyal to me and Hydra, especially Kebo. If I hadn't stepped in, there's really no telling what my boys would've done."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Yeah, you're a real knight in shining armor."

Grant shakes his head, tugging on his jacket. "More like a knight in brown leather."

"Mm-hmm, okay."

Things are quiet for a moment before Skye speaks up again.

"Why'd you stop them?" she asks.

"What?"

"Your Hydra friends," she clarifies. "Your 'boys' as you called them. Why'd you stop them? Why didn't you just let them have their way with me? Or tell them to go away so _you_ could have your way with me? I thought all of you Hydra thugs just harassed people without a second thought."

Grant shrugs his shoulders as he begins to back away. "Guess there's a whole lot more you don't know."

Skye watches as he walks away, a small hint of a smile growing on her lips. "Yeah, maybe there is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Alright. Skye's got a date with Lincoln coming up. And she's had two run ins with Grant and she's starting to wonder about him. Stay tuned. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye goes on a date and has another encounter with Grant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! I'm back with another chapter for ya. Happy day after Thanksgiving to all my American friends. Hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday with family and/or friends.
> 
> This chapter was kinda fun to write, especially the end.
> 
> Enjoy!

" _So how do you think tonight is going to go?"_

Skye sighs into her phone as she lies back on her bed. "I honestly have no idea, Jem. I haven't been out on a date since I broke up with my ex boyfriend back in California. And even when I was with him our dates never really felt like they were actual dates. He was always way more interested in something completely stupid than he was in spending time with me, his girlfriend. I really don't know why I was with him for as long as I was."

" _Well I'm very sorry to hear about that. There was obviously something wrong with him if he didn't want to spend any time quality time with you."_

Skye smiles into the phone. "Thanks, Jemma."

" _You're welcome. And I'm sure this doctor will be great company for you tonight. He'll probably treat you a lot better than your ex did. Doctors are usually very nice people."_

"Well he's not actually a doctor, Jemma. At least, not yet. He's still in medical school."

" _Right. Of course. But still, any type of job in the medical field is a very highly thought of profession and you'd be very lucky to end up with one."_

Skye nods. "Yes, I know. And hey, I don't know if I told you recently, but I'm really glad you decided not to be mad at me anymore."

" _I wasn't mad at you, necessarily. I was just a bit concerned about what your actions would result in."_

Skye smiles and lets out a small laugh. "Well my actions didn't result in my body getting beaten or maimed in any way, so I think I'm good."

" _That is not something to joke about, Skye,"_ Jemma tells. _"You'd be surprised how many people around here actually end up with their bodies badly beaten or maimed because of Hydra."_

"Right, sorry. Won't joke about things like that ever again, I promise."

" _Good, that's good."_ Jemma takes a deep breath. _"So, do you know what you're going to wear to dinner, then?"_

Skye sighs. "I don't, actually. Like I said, it's been a while since I've been out on an actual date with someone, let alone to a nice restaurant. I really have no idea why I picked that place instead of something more casual."

" _Your guess is as good as mine,"_ Jemma replies.

"Right. Well, anyways, I figured I'd probably just wear a nice dress, nothing too fancy, and some heels maybe. Though, now that I think about it, I tend to wobble a lot when I wear any type of heels, so I might just go with a pair of my nicer flats."

" _That sounds nice. And you're going to that Italian restaurant in town?"_

"Yeah," Skye says. "I'm meeting him there at seven."

" _He's not picking you up?"_

"I told him I'd meet him there."

" _Oh, alright then."_

"Yeah." Skye glances over at the alarm clock sitting on her nightstand. "Speaking of which, it's almost six-thirty. I need to figure out what I'm going to wear and get changed so I can head over to the restaurant."

" _Right, of course. You'll call me later tonight to tell me how it went?"_

Skye smiles. "I promise that I will."

" _Good. I mean, of course, I won't expect you to call me if you're otherwise…preoccupied after your date."_

Skye pauses. "Jemma Simmons, are you insinuating that I'm going to sleep with Lincoln after just one date?"

" _What? No…I never said that."_

"Yeah, you didn't really have to," Skye says with a small, disbelieving smile.

" _Please don't be mad,"_ Jemma says quickly. _"I just…um, I don't know. Sometimes I have a tendency to say things without thinking first."_

Skye lets out a small laugh. "Clearly. But I can promise you right now that I am not the type of girl who takes a guy home after just one date. Unless the guy looks good and seems like he has a lot of stamina and all I'm really looking for at the moment is just a good—"

" _Yes!"_ Jemma cuts her off quickly before she can finish her thought. _"I get the idea. You don't need to say anything else."_

Skye smirks. "Serves you right for just assuming."

" _And I'm sorry about that. I really didn't mean to offend you in any way."_

Skye laughs. "Jemma, it's fine. I promise you that I am not offended. It takes a lot more than a comment like that to offend me."

" _I'm glad."_ Jemma takes a deep breath. _"Well, I should probably let you go now so you can get ready for your date."_

"Yes, that would be preferable. I'll talk to you tonight, Jem."

" _I'll wait for your call. Goodnight, Skye."_

"Night."

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye hangs up the call and tosses her phone aside as she sits up on the bed, swinging her legs around to the edge.

Taking a deep breath, she stands up from her bed and makes her way over to her closet, opening the door to find the exact dress and pair of shoes she wants to wear for her date.

* * *

"Lincoln?" Skye speaks up as she makes her way over to the table in the far corner of the restaurant. She lets a small smile grace her lips when she sees him look up at her.

"Skye, hey." He smiles back at her, his own smile a bit wider than she knows hers is. He stands up from his chair to pull her into a quick hug. "You look beautiful," he tells her when he pulls back from the hug, moving to pull her chair out for her.

"Thank you," she says, sitting down in the chair and hanging her purse on the back of it. "You look pretty nice yourself," she tells him.

He glances down at his dress shirt before looking back up at her as he sits down in his chair. "Thanks. I went back and forth for a little while on whether or not I should wear an actual suit or just a dress shirt and some nice pants. As you can tell, I ended up going with the nice pants and dress shirts. Hope it wasn't the wrong decision."

Skye shakes her head. "It wasn't."

Lincoln nods once. "Good. That makes me feel a bit better."

"Good evening."

Skye and Lincoln both look up to see a waiter standing next to their table.

"Hi," Skye says to him with a smile.

"Hello," he says back politely. "Can I interest you in a bottle of wine, tonight?" he asks them.

"I think I'll just stick with water, thank you," Skye tells the waiter with a kind smile.

"Same," Lincoln says with a small nod.

The waiter nods. "Very well. I'll leave you to decide what you would like to eat tonight. Just wave me over when you have decided."

"Thank you," Skye says to his retreating form. She turns her attention to the menu lying in front of her, picking it up and opening it to peruse the different meal options.

"I'm really glad you agreed to have dinner with me tonight, Skye," Lincoln tells her after a quiet moment, directing a small smile across the table to her.

Skye looks up from her menu and smiles back at him. "Me too. A nice night out is definitely what I need right now."

"Yeah?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. I just moved here not that long ago so it's been a little crazy getting settled in and finding my footing in a new place that I'm in no way familiar with."

Lincoln nods. "Ah. I was wondering why I hadn't really seen you around town before now."

Skye raises an eyebrow. "You seriously can't expect me to believe that out of everyone in this town you would have remembered me if you'd seen me before now, can you? Even if it was just a tiny glimpse from across the street?"

Lincoln laughs quietly and shrugs. "Maybe not." He leans forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table in front of him. "But a woman as beautiful as you, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered seeing you, even if it was just a small glimpse from across the street."

Skye's quiet for a moment before she tilts her head back and lets out a bellowing laugh, drawing the attention of a few of the people around them. She looks back at Lincoln to see him looking at her with a small frown on his face.

"I'm sorry," she says with a small smile. "I really am. I didn't mean to stomp on your attempts at romance like that. But I've heard lines like that one way too many times over the years for my liking."

"No luck in the dating world?" he asks her.

Skye shakes her head and lets out a sigh. "Not really, no. There was this one guy back home that I was with for a while. But we didn't work out, obviously. I thought I loved him but we just weren't the right fit for each other when it came down to it."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that."

"No you aren't," Skye says. "Not really, anyways. There's a part of you that's glad it happened because otherwise I might not have moved here and we wouldn't be having dinner right now."

Lincoln sighs. "You caught me."

Skye just smiles. She shifts in her chair and leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. "So, what made you want to become a doctor?"

"I like helping people," he tells her. "And I had a friend when I was younger who got really sick. But it took the doctors a really long time to figure out what was wrong with him. They were too late and he didn't make it. I think that's pretty much when I decided I wanted to be a doctor to try and help other people so they wouldn't have to go through things like that."

"Wow. That's really neat. And I'm sorry about your friend."

He gives her a small smile. "Thanks. What about you? What do you do?"

"I got my degree in Computer Sciences," she tells him. "So I'm trying to find something that'll put that to good use."

"The job you have now?" he asks.

Skye nods. "Hopefully. It seems pretty promising right now. But I've just barely started, so it could really go anywhere at this point."

"Well I hope it all works out for you."

"Thanks. So do I…" Skye's voice trails off when a quick flash of something catches her attention out the front window of the restaurant. She furrows her brows as she tries to see what it is.

"Skye? Are you okay?"

Skye shakes her head to clear her thoughts and looks back at Lincoln. She gives him a smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. I thought I saw something outside and it just had me a little confused for a minute."

"What did you think you saw?" Lincoln asks her.

Skye hesitates before opening her mouth. "Grant Ward."

Lincoln raises a brow. "Of Hydra?"

Skye nods. "Yeah."

"Why would he be outside this restaurant right now?"

Skye shrugs. "I don't know. I just thought I saw his jacket."

"You recognized his jacket?" Lincoln asks with raised eyebrows.

Skye shrugs like it's no big deal. "Well, yeah. He's the only one in that whole group who wears a brown leather jacket, right?"

"A lot of people wear brown leather jackets around here, Skye. Not just those Hydra freaks."

"But his is really distinct," she tells him. "It's got this really rustic look to it when you're up close."

Lincoln furrows his brows in confusion. "Wait, when were you close enough to him to see the finer details of his jacket?"

"Um, just the other day. Some of those Hydra guys were harassing me and he stepped in, stopped them from doing anything."

"You sure he wasn't doing that so he could just have you to himself? So the other guys would see you as his property?"

Skye narrows her eyes. "I'm nobody's property, Lincoln."

"Does he know that? Are you sure he's not just waiting until you're alone again so he can attack you?"

"I don't think he'll do that," Skye says.

"You can't be sure," Lincoln says back.

"No, but I just have a feeling. I think there's more to him than everybody in this town thinks there is."

"He's a member of Hydra!" Lincoln whisper shouts.

"Yeah, I know that. I'm not an idiot, Lincoln; I know he's a part of Hydra. Literally everybody in this town knows that."

"Good. I don't want you around him anymore; you need to stay away from him. That's all there is to it."

Skye raises an eyebrow. "You don't..." She leans back in her chair and lets out a breathy laugh. "Wow. You are...unbelievable. We _barely_ know each other. We're not actually together. You have absolutely no right to tell me what I'm allowed to do. And even if we were together, you'd still have no right to tell me what to do and who to be around."

"I just want you to be safe, Skye. Those Hydra guys are bad news."

"Maybe they are. But that still gives you no right to tell me what I can and can't do with my life." She removes her napkin from her lap and sets it down on the table, pushes her chair back, and stands up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Lincoln asks.

"Anywhere that isn't here," she tells him, pulling her bag up onto her shoulder. "Have a good life, Lincoln," she says, turning around and making her way towards the front door of the restaurant.

She lets out a huff of air as she pushes open the restaurant doors and steps out into the cool evening air.

"Can't believe him," Skye mutters under her breath as she makes her way towards the edge of the sidewalk, head bent down as she digs in her purse for her car keys. "The nerve he had to tell me how to live my life." She lets out a frustrated sigh. "I really need to clean this damn thing out." She steps down off the curb as she continues the search for her keys.

"Hey! Look out!"

Skye lifts her head in time to see two bright headlights of a car quickly coming towards her.

She freezes in that instant, finding herself unable to move.

The next thing she knows, a pair of strong arms is wound tightly around her middle and she's being yanked out of the road.

When she finds herself able to breathe again, she turns her head to see Grant standing extremely close to her, his arms still wrapped around her waist.

"You okay?" he asks her.

She nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. What are you...what are you doing here?"

He shrugs. "I was out for a walk. Saw you step down into the road when that car was coming. You didn't see it until I yelled out to you."

"Yeah. I was a little preoccupied trying to find my car keys."

"Maybe you need to be a little more observant," he tells her. "Next time I may not be around to save you."

Skye deadpans. "Oh what in the world will I ever do without my knight in shining armor?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure we've already established that I'm a knight in _brown leather_ , not shining armor."

Skye lets out a small laugh and nods. "Right. How could I have forgotten?"

"It happens," he says back.

"Hey, um, could you maybe unwrap your arms from around me now?" she asks him after a minute.

"Oh, right." Grant quickly unwraps his arms from around Skye's waist. "Sorry about that."

She takes a small step backwards to put a little bit of space in between them. "It's fine." She smoothes out her clothes. "So uh, what are you doing walking around here without your posse?" she asks him.

He shrugs. "Sometimes I like to just get out and away from everything."

"Really?"

He nods, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Yeah."

"Well I wouldn't have guessed that. Would have figured your guys would be somewhere around here, hiding out, pretending to give you space."

Grant shakes his head. "Nope. Just me."

"Right. Well, I'm sure someone is worried about you."

"Probably not."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Grant takes a deep breath. "So, what were you doing dressed up so nice before I had to save you from becoming a hood ornament tonight?"

"Wow. So eloquent," Skye jokes.

Grant smiles and shrugs. "I try. But seriously, what were you doing? I genuinely want to know."

"I was...on a date," she tells him.

He shifts on his feet. "Really?"

She nods. "Yeah. But uh, it didn't go too well. Didn't even make it to the actual dinner part of the date."

"Can I ask why?"

Skye shifts on her feet. "I uh, I thought I saw you outside the restaurant window. When I told my date about it he got all high and mighty. Told me he didn't want me around you. I told him that it wasn't his choice to make. Then I left."

"Your date ended early because of me?" he asks with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Not completely, so don't get all proud or anything."

"I wasn't," he says.

"Sure you weren't," she says back, turning and making her way to her car, making sure to check both ways this time around before she crosses the street.

"So, do I get to know your name?" Grant asks, following after her.

"And why would I tell you that?" she asks when she reaches her car, leaning down slightly to unlock it.

Grant stops behind her and shrugs. "Well, I mean, I've saved your life twice now so I think the least you can do is tell me what your name is." He shifts on his feet as Skye climbs inside her car. "Besides, you already know my name."

Skye raises an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's really going to be your argument here? Literally _everyone_ in this town knows your name."

"Fair point." He takes a deep breath. "So do I get to know your name?"

Skye pulls her car door shut and sticks the key in the ignition, starting the engine. She lowers her window and then buckles her seatbelt.

She watches out of the corner of her eye as Grant leans down so he's level with the open window.

"So?"

Skye smiles up at him, pushing some hair back off of her shoulder. "Skye. My name is Skye."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Bye bye, Lincoln. That'll most likely be the last appearance of Lincoln in this story, unless I decide to throw him in near the end, but I'm still debating that.
> 
> Also, now Grant knows what her name is. I'm really excited about the upcoming chapters, and I just wish I could give you guys all of this story at once but it's not completely done yet. But I do have some really good stuff coming up that I can't wait for you guys to read. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night out with friends and yet another run in with Grant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! It's currently Dead Week at my school right now and since I still have a little bit of time before I have to leave work and go to class, I thought I'd update this story again for ya. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

"I'm so glad I decided to come out with you guys tonight," Skye says to her small group of friends gathered together around one of the tables in one of the local bars in town.

"So are we," Jemma replies with a small smile. "It's always nice getting to hang out with each other outside of work."

"Yes it most definitely is," Trip agrees, lifting his glass of beer into the air. "Not to mention there are some beautiful women here who look very single and I hope won't mind a little conversation with a gentleman such as myself." He smiles at his friends.

"Well good luck to you on that one," Skye tells her friend. "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

Trip tilts his head and gives her a small. " _Hunger Games_ reference, nice."

Skye smiles and shrugs. "I try." She waves him away. "No go do some flirting, find a nice woman for yourself."

Trip laughs quietly and turns towards Fitz. "Care to be my wingman for the night?"

Fitz's eyes go wide and he sets his drink down on the table. "Oh, I uh, um, I'm not sure how to…"

"It's fine," Trip says, clapping him on the back. "All you gotta do is stand there and be yourself."

"Um, yeah, alright, I think I can do that."

"Great," Trip says. "Come on." He gently pulls Fitz away from the table and further into the bar.

"Wait, right now?" Fitz asks in a slight panic as they go.

"Poor Fitz," Skye says with a small laugh as she lifts her beer bottle to her lips.

"Yes," Jemma says. "I hope he'll be alright. He tends to be a bit awkward around women, doesn't really know how to speak to them without fumbling over his words."

"I've noticed," Skye replies. "But the only woman he seems not to be so awkward around is you."

"Yes, well, Fitz and I have known each other for quite a while and we work very closely together in R & D. We've gotten to know each other rather well over the years."

Skye nods. "Uh-huh. And when, in all those years of working together, did you realize that your feelings for him are more than just as a friend?"

Jemma eyes go wide and she almost chokes on her drink. She swallows quickly and sets her glass down, shaking her head vehemently. "Oh, no, you're completely mistaken. Fitz is a friend, that's all I see him as. He's my best friend."

"You can deny it all you want, Jemma, but I can see it whenever you two are together, which is practically all the time. You may not see the way Fitz looks at you, but I definitely see it."

"Then there must be something wrong with your eyes."

Skye shakes her head. "No, I don't think there is."

"Well nothing is ever going to happen between Fitz and I," she says determinedly. "There'd be so much put at risk if we ever tried to start a relationship beyond friendship. Besides, neither of us feel that way about the other."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Alright, whatever you say." She lifts her beer to her lips to take a drink.

"Let's move on to a different topic," Jemma says, shifting on her feet. "You never called me after your date with Lincoln the other night."

Skye sets her drink down and sighs. "That's because I didn't want to rehash it over the phone."

"Did something go wrong?"

"We never even made it to dinner," Skye tells her friend reluctantly. "I mean, we made it to the restaurant, but didn't make it past all the small talk to the actual ordering and eating part."

Jemma furrows her brows. "Really? How come?"

Skye shakes her head. "I'd really rather not say. But what I can tell you is that I won't be going out with Lincoln again anytime soon. After the other night I just don't think he and I would be a good fit for each other."

"Oh, well that's a shame," Jemma says. "You deserve to go on a nice date with a nice man who will treat you right."

"That's what I keep telling myself," Skye replies. "Guess I just haven't found the right guy to go out with yet."

"You'll find someone eventually," Jemma assures her. "Maybe sooner than you think."

"Yeah, okay," she says offhandedly.

"I'm being serious, Skye. The right man for you is out there somewhere. Maybe you've already met him and you just didn't realize it."

"Maybe you're right," Skye says. "All I'm asking for is a nice guy who will treat me right and not try to control everything that I do. I was with a guy like that back home and it didn't end well between us. I will not make a mistake like that again."

"To the right guy," Jemma says, holding her drink up in the air.

Skye smiles and holds her drink up as well, tapping the edge of it against Jemma's. "To the right guy."

.

.

.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine getting home tonight?" Jemma asks Skye as they stand together outside the front of the bar.

Skye nods her head, instantly regretting it. She winces slightly at the quick rush of pain behind her eyes before looking back at Jemma. "I promise you I'll be fine, Jemma. I didn't drive here because I knew I'd be drinking and it'd also be pointless to drive when it's only a few blocks away from my apartment."

"Right. And are you _sure_ you'll be fine on your own? Because Trip said he'd be more than willing to walk with you, or even drive you."

Skye sighs. "Jemma, I'll be fine, I promise. You need to stop worrying like the mother hen you are. But if it'll make you feel any better, I'll text you as soon as I'm home so you know that I'm safe."

Jemma smiles. "That would be wonderful. I'll see you at work?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. See you at work. Bye guys," she says with a small wave to Trip and Fitz.

They both smile and wave back at her.

Giving Jemma a hug, Skye turns around and begins making her way down the sidewalk in the direction of her apartment.

As she walks she stumbles a few times on the pavement, slightly tipsy from the few beers she consumed in the bar.

From his spot across the street leaning back against a brick wall, Grant watches as Skye makes her way down the sidewalk, swaying slightly as she walks.

Pushing off of the wall and looking both ways, Grant quickly crosses the street to the other sidewalk, making sure to stay far enough away from Skye, but still close enough so he can keep an eye on her.

He watches as her entire body shakes for a moment before she stops completely. He stops as well, staying still in the darkness.

Skye looks out the corner of her eyes, trying to find the source of the feeling she's getting that someone is watching her.

Out of a nearby apartment window reflection she spots him standing behind her.

"So are you stalking me now?" she asks as she turns around.

Grant sighs, stepping into the light being cast from the lamppost near them. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, you didn't startle me," she tells him. "I'm just a little curious as to why a known Hydra baddie like yourself is following me around late at night when it's almost pitch-black outside."

Grant looks down briefly before looking back up. "Yeah, I uh, I'm sorry about that. Probably not the smartest move I could've chose."

"So then why are you doing it?" she asks him.

Grant shrugs. "Guess you just intrigue me."

Skye raises an eyebrow at him. "I intrigue you?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm."

"And why is that?" she asks.

He takes a few small steps towards her. "For starters, you're the only person I've ever met in this town that hasn't run the other way every time they see me. And you had the guts to stand up to me like you did outside that coffee shop. Guess it just made me a little curious about you."

"So instead of approaching me in the middle of the day when I can actually see you and maybe starting up a conversation with me, you just decide to follow me in the dark late and night and wait for me to possibly notice you?"

Grants sighs. "Like I said. Not the smartest move on my part."

"No. It really wasn't."

"So where are you headed so late?" he asks her.

"Home," she says. "I was out with a few friends from work and the place we went isn't too far from where I live. So I decided to just walk there and back."

"Mind if I walk with you?" he asks her. "Keep you company on the rest of your way home?"

Skye tilts her head and furrows her brows in thought. "Uh, yeah, sure. I guess that's fine."

"Great. It's not too far, right?"

Skye nods. "Right." She turns and continues walking down the sidewalk, Grant quickly falling into step beside her.

"So, I take it you had fun with your friends tonight," Grant says as they make their way down the sidewalk.

"What makes you say that?" Skye asks.

"You were swaying while walking," he tells her. "I was across the street when I saw you. Figured you were probably a little tipsy, which might be a reason why I decided to follow you, to make sure you'd be okay getting wherever you were going."

Skye nods. "I may have had a few beers tonight. But I'm still pretty alert, so I think I'll be okay."

"Never said you weren't," he replies. "Just wanted to make sure that you were. Also, you never really answered me when I asked if you had an enjoyable time tonight with your friends."

"Technically, you didn't really ask," she retorts.

Grant chuckles quietly. "Alright, so I'm asking you now. Did you have a good time with your friends tonight?"

"I did," she tells him with a small nod. "I'm really glad I was able to make friends so quickly at my job. Working there would have been pure torture without really knowing anyone."

"Yeah, I can imagine that that'd be tough."

Skye nods. "Extremely."

The two are quiet as they continue to walk.

"Well, this is me," Skye says, breaking the comfortable silence between them when they eventually reach her apartment. She stops walking and turns to face Grant. "Thanks for walking me the rest of the way. Even though you really didn't have to. I would have been fine on my own."

"I wanted to walk with you," he tells her with a small shrug. "There can be some dangerous people—"

She raises a brow. "Besides Hydra?"

"—who walk these streets late at night," he finishes. "People other than anyone in Hydra," he adds. "Mostly kids and teens who think they're tough, trying to show off for Hydra hoping to get noticed. But they're all amateurs, don't really know what they're doing, make lots of mistakes."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing you walked with me," she says to him. "Anybody who thought of trying anything when they saw me probably took one look at you and completely ran the other way with their tail between their legs. Or you would have just shot them in the face, right?"

Grant lets out a small laugh and nods. "Yeah, I do have a gun. Though I try not to use my gun unless it's absolutely necessary. And I don't always have it on me. But even without my gun, I guess it's a good thing I'm here. Kept all the creeps away."

"You mean all of the follow-you-quietly-in-the-dark creeps other than you?" she asks with a light tease in her voice.

Grant chuckles quietly. "Alright, alright. Fair point. But seriously. I'm glad you got home okay."

"You are?"

He nods. "Yeah. Like I said, you intrigue me. I'd hate for something to happen to you before I get to know more about you."

Skye gives him a small smile. "Well then in that case, how would you like to take me out?"

Grant furrows his brows. "Take you out?"

"On a date," she clarifies.

"Oh, um..."

Skye quirks an eyebrow. "What? Suddenly you're not interested in me? Just like that?"

Grant shakes his head. "No, no, it's not that. I uh, I just, I wasn't expecting you to just ask me out like that."

"You weren't?"

"No, I wasn't. I was kind of expecting you to be a little hesitant when _I_ asked _you_ out."

Skye gives him a small smile. "You were planning on asking me out?"

"I meant hypothetically," he says.

"Uh-huh. Sure you did. So what do you say? Want to go out with me?"

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah, I would."

"Good. There's this little get together that the company I work for is doing for the Fourth of July. It's a barbecue and there's going to be a fireworks show at the end of the night. If you want, you can be my plus one."

"You sure you want that to be our date?" he asks her.

"Why? You have a problem with fireworks or something?"

He shakes his head. "No, but me and some of my guys have roughed that place up a bit before. Some of those people probably won't be too happy to see me there."

"You scared?" she teases.

"No, I'm not scared. But I don't want anyone to harass you or alienate you because you're going on a date with me of all people."

"Let me tell you something right now, Grant Ward," she says firmly, but calmly, taking a small step towards him. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And I usually don't care what people think of me, I've long since gotten past that stage of my life. So if people want to talk when they see us together, let them. All I care about is going on a date with you to see if you're really as bad as people say you are."

"You're not just going to believe what everyone else says and stay completely away from?" he asks.

Skye shakes her head. "How can I when you're always there?" she asks with a smile. "Plus, I like to make my own decisions about people. However, that doesn't mean I won't be cautious of you."

"Wouldn't be human if you weren't a little cautious," he replies.

Skye nods once. "Exactly."

Grant takes a deep breath. "Okay then. Fourth of July date night. Sounds like a plan to me."

Skye smiles. "Good. Be here at 5, I'll drive us over there."

Grant smiles back and gives a small nod. "I will be here at 5. And I'm really looking forward to this date, by the way."

"Me too." She hesitates for a second before taking another small step forward and rising up onto her toes to press a quick kiss to his cheek. "And thanks for walking me home."

His smile widens. "Anytime. Goodnight, Skye."

"Night." She throws him another smile over her shoulder as walks up the sidewalk and makes her way inside her apartment, closing the door tightly behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Skye asked Grant out on a date and he said yes. Who's excited for their date night? I am. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye go on their first date :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! As of today I am now done with my first quarter of my second year of college. So in honor of that, I've decided to post the next chapter of this story for you guys. This one was a lot of fun for me to write, you'll see why as you read it. And it's pretty long, so there's that too. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Looking at himself in the mirror hanging on his bedroom wall, Grant takes a deep breath as he adjusts the collar of his leather jacket around his neck.

"Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous. There is absolutely no need to be nervous," he tells himself, feeling the rapid pace of his heart beating inside his chest. "You are Grant Ward, _nothing_ scares you." He lets out a breath and slouches his shoulders, frowning slightly. "Except for the prospect of making a complete idiot of yourself tonight in front of the girl you like." He puffs his chest back up. "But _she's_ the one who asked _you_ out. Clearly she's interested in you or she wouldn't have asked."

He looks over at the digital clock sitting on top of the nightstand next to his bed before looking back up into the mirror.

"Okay," he breathes out. "It's almost 4:30. It takes about two minutes to get from here to the bus stop and then an approximately fifteen minute bus ride to the stop that's closest to her apartment. But if I take the bus everyone will probably be staring at me and shying away the whole time. That's nothing I'm not used to, though. Shouldn't be a problem at all. And from the bus stop closest to her apartment, it's about a five minute walk. Which leaves me about a ten minute buffer zone in case something happens."

He takes another deep breath. "That should be plenty of time. Yeah, that should be good."

He breaths in deeply and holds it for a moment before letting it out. "Okay, time to go."

"Yo, Grant!"

Grant closes his eyes and groans internally. He opens his eyes and looks up to see Joey making his way towards him, a wide grin on his face.

Grant turns fully to face his brother, giving him a tight smile. "What do you want, Joey?"

"It's the Fourth of July, man," Joey tells him. "Bunch of us are gonna go out and harass some of the locals at their parties like we do every year. You coming with us?"

Grant shakes his head. "Sorry, can't. I'm busy tonight."

"Doing what?" Joey asks, the smile slowly falling from his face.

Grant shrugs. "Stuff."

"Well what kind of stuff?"

"Stuff that's none of your business," Grant tells him, grabbing his wallet off of the desk and sliding it into his back pocket.

"Whoa." Joey reaches out and grabs Grant's arm. "What's your deal, man?" He drops his hand.

"Nothing," Grant says. "I just don't see why I have to tell you what I'm doing tonight. You're not my keeper."

"Maybe not, but I _am_ your brother."

"You sure as hell have a funny way of showing it sometimes." Grant grabs his phone and goes to move past Joey, only to be stopped by Joey's hand gripping his upper arm again, tightly.

Joey leans close and lowers his voice, "I _really_ hope you haven't forgotten what happened to the last person who crossed me, Grant."

"Of course I haven't forgotten," Grant says through gritted teeth, ripping his arm out of Joey's grip. "I'm the one who took care of him for you."

"And it'll be a lot worse for you. You know that."

"Well don't worry," Grant says. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

"A lot of people say that."

"I know, but I really mean it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere that I need to be." He roughly pushes past his brother and makes his way out of the room and down the hallway towards the front of the building, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket.

Stepping out into the cool early evening air, Grant breathes in deeply before turning and walking down the sidewalk towards the bus stop.

Once he reaches the covered bus stop, he leans sideways against the outside of the covering, waiting as patiently as he can for the bus to arrive.

As he stands there he can't help but notice the other people at the stop eyeing him and whispering, a few of them trying to subtly shuffle away from him.

He just sighs and shakes his head, not at all surprised by their actions.

Letting out a breath of relief when the bus pulls up to the stop, Grant pushes off of the structure and takes a few steps towards the front entrance of the bus.

When the doors open, Grant steps up onto the bus after everyone else, immediately moving towards the rear of the bus to find a seat.

"Sir, it's a dollar to ride."

Grant turns around and stares at the driver. "You must be new here. I'm not paying. Now drive."

"Sir, if you don't pay, I'm going to have to ask you to get off of the bus."

"Dude, just drive," one of the passengers sitting near the front of the bus whisper shouts to the driver, leaning forward slightly in his seat. "Seriously, it's for your own good."

The driver shakes his head. "Passengers must pay to ride the bus."

Grant sighs and takes a few steps back towards the front of the bus. He leans down towards the driver. "Listen. You obviously don't know who I am, which actually kind of hurts my feelings a little, but I'm going to let it slide just this once because you're clearly new here and no one's told you. But I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." He shifts on his feet. "Until you do, though, I'm _still_ not going to pay to ride this bus, and you're just going to go along with your route like nothing ever happened. And I'm kind of in a bad mood right now, which I really wish I wasn't because I have plans tonight that I'm actually looking forward to. So unless you want my bad mood to increase significantly and be taken out on you, you're just going to drive this bus and not worry about me not paying. Okay?"

The bus driver nods slowly and swallows. "Okay."

Grant feigns a smile. "Glad we're on the same page now." He stands up and turns around to face the rest of the bus. He holds his hands up. "Sorry for the delay, everyone. Just a little misunderstanding with the new driver. Carry on as you were." He drops his hands and moves towards an empty seat in the middle of the bus.

Sitting down, he lets out a sigh as he makes himself comfortable, leaning back in his seat. A second later, the bus starts moving again.

Grant lets out a small sigh. "Good thing I allotted myself a buffer zone."

.

.

.

Making his way down the sidewalk, Grant stops briefly outside Skye's apartment, taking a moment to just look at it.

He takes a deep breath. "Here we go."

Stepping forward, he makes his way up to the front door of the apartment, standing outside for just another moment.

Taking another deep breath, Grant steps closer to Skye's front door and fixes his leather jacket before lifting a fist to knock on the wood and then rocks slightly on his heels as he waits.

A few seconds later the door swings open and he can't help the smile that grows on his face when he sees Skye standing on the other side. She's wearing a simple pair of slightly faded blue jeans, a white tank top with a faded American flag printed on it, and some red slip on tennis shoes. Her hair is pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head.

"You're here," she says first thing when she sees him.

Grant just shrugs. "Said I would be."

She nods. "Right, sorry."

"It's fine," he assures her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just need to grab a blanket for us to sit on," she tells him.

"Great."

Skye gives him a small smile before stepping back into her apartment to get a blanket.

Once she has a folded up blanket in her arms she steps out of the apartment, closing and locking the door behind her.

She takes a deep breath and looks at Grant. "Shall we go?"

Grant nods. "Absolutely."

Skye turns around and walks towards her car, going around it to the driver's side while Grant moves to the passenger side, climbing inside when Skye unlocks the car.

"So," Skye says as she starts the car, "you ready for the party?"

Grant shrugs. "I guess so. I don't really go to a whole lot of parties to actually enjoy them, so this'll be a new experience for me."

She smiles at him. "Well I'll be there to coach you through it."

He smiles back. "I appreciate it."

Skye shifts the car into drive and slowly pulls away from the curb and onto the street.

"So, what exactly can I expect from this party?" Grant asks her after a moment.

"Afraid I can't tell you that," she replies. "This is my first year going so I really don't know much of what to expect. All I know is that there's going to be a whole lot of food and probably a fireworks show."

"You didn't think to ask any questions about it when you were at work?"

Skye shakes her head. "Nope. I want to be surprised, in a sense. With things like this I don't wanna know what's going to be there beforehand."

Grant nods. "Ah. Well, that can either be a good thing or a bad thing."

"I think I'll take my chances," she tells him. "Besides, if it completely sucks then at least I'll have someone there with me to keep me company." She looks over at him and gives him a small smile.

He smiles and nods. "Yes, you do have that. And I promise I'll try and be the best company I can be."

"As long as you try," she says back. "I'm sure we'll have a pretty decent time, though. I've got a good feeling about tonight."

.

.

.

"Wow, this looks like a really good turnout," Skye says as she climbs out of her car, making sure she grabs the blanket out of the backseat before closing the door behind her.

"Yeah, there are a lot of people here," Grant says, climbing out of the car as well. "And most of them will probably run the other way when they see me." He sighs deeply.

Skye turns towards him and leans against the car. "Hey, look at me." She waits until Grant is looking at her before she continues, "I don't want to hear any more of that stuff about people walking the other way when they see you, okay? Not tonight. Tonight is about you and me trying to have a good time on a date. Do you think you can handle that? For just a few hours?"

Grant gives her a small smile. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

Skye smiles back at him. "Good. Now come on." She lightly hits the roof of the car and then stands up straight, moving towards the front.

Grant moves towards the front as well and stops when he reaches Skye. He looks down at her. "You ready for a party?"

Skye nods her head and holds her hand out to him, palm up. "Absolutely."

Grant hesitates for a split second before grabbing her hand in his.

Skye laces their fingers together and smiles up at him.

He smiles back down at her, holding her hand just a little bit tighter.

"This is nice," he tells her quietly.

She nods. "Yeah, it is. Now come on, let's get over there so we can find ourselves a good spot to be able to see the fireworks from."

"Right, that's probably a good idea."

The two begin making their way forward towards the field where everyone is gathered, hands clasped between them.

"Skye, so glad you could make it."

"Hey Eric," she greets the other man with a smile. "Why aren't you over there enjoying the party?" she asks him.

"I'm here to greet people as they arrive," Eric tells her.

Skye nods. "Ah, I see. Well, thank you for greeting me."

"Of course. And who's your—" Eric cuts himself off and goes pale.

Grant gives Eric a tight smile. "Hey."

"Wait, do you two know each other?" Skye asks, looking back and forth between the two.

"I may have...roughed his brother up a bit a few years ago," Grant tells her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Roughed up?" Eric screeches. "You put him in the _hospital_ , you monster."

"He's still alive, though, isn't he?"

"Okay," Skye cuts in when she sees the look on Eric's face. She looks up at Grant. "Let's go inside to the party and try to enjoy ourselves, alright?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, okay."

"Okay," Skye breathes out. "Come on, then." She gently tugs on Grant's hand and pulls him past Eric. "Well that was definitely interesting," Skye remarks as they make their way across the field.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I guess some people really can hold grudges for years."

"It happened a long time ago," she tells him. "And as awful as it may be, it's in the past. Right now the only thing we need to worry about it is our date, and having a good time on it."

Grant nods. "You're right. Let's go find a good spot to sit."

Skye smiles up at him. "You read my mind. Come on." She pulls on his hand, dragging him across the large field full of people.

"Ooh, this is a good spot right here," Skye tells him. She drops his hand and unfolds the blanket she brought, spreading it out on the grass. She takes a step back and lets out a breath, giving a small nod. "Perfect," she says to herself. She looks up at Grant. "Wanna sit?"

He nods. "Yeah." He moves towards the blanket and sits down on the edge of it as Skye sits down in the middle, kicking her shoes off in the grass.

"Why are you sitting so far away?" she asks him. "Scoot closer. This is a date."

"Right," he says quietly. He carefully moves himself across the blanket until he's sitting next to Skye.

Skye turns her entire body so she's facing him. He does the same.

Skye smiles and lets out a breath. "Much better," she tells him.

"Yeah?" he asks.

She nods. "Yeah. It's a lot easier to talk to each other this way."

"I suppose it is." Grant takes a deep breath. "So, I know that you're new in town, but I don't know where you're from."

"California," she tells him.

"Ooh, nice. What made you want to move here of all places?"

Skye shrugs. "I wanted something new, something different. Massachusetts seemed like a pretty good choice."

"Well, I, for one, am very glad that you moved here," he tells her.

"And why's that?" she asks, a small smile on her lips.

"Because you're absolutely beautiful, more beautiful than anyone I've seen. And I've never met anyone so beautiful who isn't completely terrified of me when they first meet me."

"Guess you just got lucky, then," she says, her smile growing ever so slightly.

Grant smiles back at her. "Yeah, I guess I did."

.

.

.

"What's everyone doing?" Grant asks Skye as he watches a large group of people gather together near one spot.

Skye turns her head to look and furrows her brows in thought.

"I have a feeling that means that the food's ready now," Skye says to him. "Which is actually a really good thing because I'm starving. I'm gonna go get some food before the line gets too long." She stands up from the blanket and brushes off the back of her pants, slipping her shoes back on her feet. She looks down at Grant. "You want anything?" she asks him.

"I can come too," he says, starting to stand.

"No," she says gently, holding a hand out. She gives him a small smile. "I asked you out, I'm gonna go get the food."

He sits back down. "Are you sure?"

She nods. "Yeah. What do you want? Burger or hot dog?"

"Burger," he tells her. "Everything on it except for onions. I don't like onions."

Skye smiles. "Good to know. Any sides?"

"Um, maybe just some fruit and vegetables, whichever ones they have. I'm not too picky."

Skye nods. "Alright. I'll be back."

He smiles up at her. "I'll be here."

She smiles back at him before turning around and making her way across the field to the tables holding all of the food.

"Ooh, everything here looks so good," Skye says to no one in particular as she grabs two plates off the end of the table.

"Hey, you're the new girl in IT, right?"

Skye looks up to see a guy with dark red hair and glasses standing on the other side of the table.

"Yeah, I am," she replies, taking a few small steps forward as the line in front of her moves. "But I wouldn't really call myself new anymore."

He nods. "Right. And you're here with that guy in the brown leather jacket over there, right?" he asks her, moving down his line as well.

She furrows her brows slightly. "Um, yeah. And he has a name, it's Grant."

"He's a member of Hydra," the guy tells her in a somewhat conspiratorial voice.

"I'm well aware of that fact," she replies. She reaches down and grabs two hamburger patties, setting them on the buns on both of the plates in front of her.

"And you don't think that's even a remotely bad idea?"

Skye stops briefly in her path of adding condiments and looks up at the man. "I don't see how what I choose to do on my own time is any of your business. I don't even know you." She looks down and adds a few ingredients.

"You don't know _him_ either," the guy tells her.

"Hence the point of me bringing him here," she says without looking up. "To get to know him."

"Well I'll help you get started on that. He's a bad guy. The worst of them."

She looks up at the man. "I like to make my own decisions about people, thank you very much."

"Suit yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you." The man picks up his plate of food and walks away from the table.

Letting out a frustrated huff of air, Skye continues down the line of food, setting different fruits and vegetables available down on the two plates.

Reaching the end of the table, she picks up both plates and carries them with her back over to where Grant is waiting for her.

"Here's your food," she says to him, holding the plate out to him when she reaches the blanket.

"Thanks." Grant reaches up and accepts the plate, setting it down in front of him.

Skye kicks her shoes off and sits down beside Grant again, setting her plate in her lap.

"Skye, are you okay?" Grant asks her, noticing the way she's glaring down at her hamburger.

Skye looks up at him. "What?"

"I asked if you're okay."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Just uh, just ran into someone from work. Someone I've never met or talked to before yet somehow felt like they had the right to comment on what I do and who I interact with on my own time."

"Did they say something about me?"

"What? No," Skye tells him. "Why would you think that?"

Grant sighs. "I'm not a moron, Skye. I know that a lot of the people here probably have something to say to you about bringing me. They probably want to warn you to stay away from me."

"Well they can keep all their opinions to themselves," she replies. "It might have been a little annoying when that guy said what he did, because I don't know him, but I really don't care what anyone else has to say about you. I'm here to get to know you better." She gives him a smile.

He smiles back. "Same goes for me." He turns his attention to his food and begins eating.

Skye takes a deep breath and lets her body relax as she exhales.

"So, tell me something about you that no one else knows," Skye says to Grant, picking up her burger and taking a bite.

"What?" he asks, slightly caught off guard.

Skye swallows her food. "I said, tell me something about you that no one else knows. Something you've never told anyone before."

"Okay, um," he trails off as he thinks. He shifts in his spot. "Alright, I love dogs."

"You love dogs," Skye repeats.

Grant nods. "Yeah. I love dogs. Have for as long as I can remember. Of course, I've never actually had one, but I think I'd like to some day if I ever get the chance."

Skye smiles and lets out a small laugh. "Wow, who would have thought that super tough Hydra baddie Grant Ward had a soft spot for adorable little puppies."

Grant smiles and laughs himself, nodding slightly. "I know, I know. It's unusual."

Skye shakes her head. "No, it's nice. So does this mean that dogs are your favorite animal?"

"I guess so," he says with a shrug. "What about you? What's your favorite animal?"

"Elephants," Skye tells him without hesitation. "I love elephants. Especially the baby ones."

"Really?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. I've always kind of had a thing for elephants. I just think they're really cute. And they're such incredible animals."

Grant nods with a small smile. "That they are."

.

.

.

Throwing his head back, Grant lets out a loud laugh. He looks back at Skye. "You did not do that."

"Oh but I did," she replies. "My mom and dad grounded me for an entire month after that."

"Wow. That's amazing. And did you always get into trouble like that, or was it just a onetime thing?"

"Oh, no, it was all the time. It wasn't always that extreme, but I was constantly causing trouble growing up. I guess I've just always thought life kind of sucks if you aren't really trying to live it. You know what I mean?"

He nods. "I think I do, yeah."

Things are quiet for a moment before Grant speaks up again.

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry no one's been talking to you all night. And that they've kind of been steering clear of this little area." He gestures to the space around them.

Skye waves him off. "It's fine."

"I'm serious, Skye."

"So am I," she says. "I told you before that I don't care what anyone else has to say. I'm on a date with you and that's all that matters to me."

"You sure?"

She nods. "I'm sure."

He gives her a smile. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Attention everyone."

They both turn their heads towards the front end of the field where Skye's boss is standing with a megaphone in his hand.

"I just want to thank you all again for coming out to our annual Fourth of July celebration, we have such an amazing turnout this year. But now, it's time for the part of the evening that I'm sure is the real reason you came here: the fireworks show."

The whole crowd claps and cheers.

The man laughs. "Alright. So if you all want to find your seats the show will begin in just a few minutes. Hope you enjoy."

The crowd cheers again as the man makes his way off to the side.

Everyone begins moving about the field, settling down into their seats; some in lawn chairs and some on blankets in the grass.

"Will you take a picture with me?" Skye asks him after a moment.

He looks down at her. "What?"

"A picture," she repeats. "I want to get a picture of us to commemorate this moment."

"Really?" he asks.

She nods. "Really. So will you?"

Grant gives her a small smile and nods. "Yeah, sure, okay."

She smiles. "Awesome." She shifts on the blanket to pull her phone out of her back pocket and then slides the lock screen up to get to the camera.

Skye moves on the blanket again so she's sitting closer to Grant, leaning against him ever so slightly.

Grant hesitates for a moment before wrapping his arm around her shoulders to hold her closer.

Skye smiles to herself at the gesture.

"Smile nice," she instructs Grant as she holds the phone up in front of them.

At the last second before the photo, Skye leans her head comfortably on Grant's shoulder.

Grant looks down when Skye leans her head on him, right as she captures the photo, smiling down at her with nothing but fondness and infatuation in his eyes.

After taking the photo, Skye pulls the phone down and smiles at the photo.

"Aww, that's a really great photo," she tells him.

"Yeah, it is," he agrees. "Could you actually send that to me?" he asks her.

She looks up at him. "Yeah, of course." She taps a few times on her phone screen before holding it to him. "Here. Put your number in."

Grant takes the phone from her and quickly inputs his cell phone number before handing it back to her.

"Thank you." Skye takes the phone from him and taps a few more times before smiling up at him. "And it's sent."

A few seconds later, a small ding can be heard from within Grant's jacket pocket.

He shifts slightly to pull the device out and looks at the lock screen. He looks back at Skye and smiles. "And now I have the photo and your number."

Skye's body shakes as a shiver runs down her spine.

"Oh wow," she says. "Suddenly I am all kinds of cold. I knew I shouldn't have worn a tank top to this thing. But in my head, I was all like 'hey, it's still the middle of summer. It won't get that cold'. Well jokes on me, apparently. Guess I'm still in a California mindset where the summers are ridiculously hot I tend to walk around in barely anything."

Grant swallows thickly. "Here, you can wear this." He shifts on the blanket and pulls his leather jacket off, draping it across Skye's shoulders.

"Aren't you going to get cold?" she asks him.

Grant shakes his head. "Probably not. I've lived here my whole life so I'm used to the weather. And I've never really been cold; I've always been really warm, even in the winter."

"If you say so."

"I do say so," he replies.

Skye lets out a sigh. "Alright, then." She grabs the edges of the jacket and pulls it closer around her upper body, snuggling into the warmth emanating from the inside of it.

A moment later there's a loud popping sound and then the dark sky above them is lit up in bright colors. One by one the fireworks go off, every so often two or three at a time, illuminating the night sky in an array of colors.

Tilting her head, Skye smiles when she sees Grant looking up at the sky, completely focused on the fireworks above them.

Hesitating for only a quick second, Skye leans up and presses her lips to Grant's cheek, startling him and causing him to look down at her.

"What was that for?" he asks.

Skye shrugs. "Don't know. Just felt right."

"Oh. Okay."

"And Grant?"

"Yeah?"

"Tonight's been really fun."

"Yeah, it has been," he agrees with a small smile. "Who would have thought a Hydra baddie could be enjoyable company, huh?"

Skye lets out a small laugh. "Yeah. And uh, I know this is only our first date, and I don't know if you're interested or not, but I'm kind of thinking that I want to see where this goes."

"Where what goes?" he asks.

"Us," she clarifies. "I want to see where we go."

"You mean like a couple?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, I guess so. So, what do you say?" She holds her hand out to him, palm up. "Want to see if this'll work?"

Grant smiles and takes her hand in his, linking their fingers together. "I think I'd really like that."

Skye smiles up at him before scooting closer to him on the blanket. She leans into his side and rests her head on his shoulder, letting out a content sigh as she watches the rest of the fireworks go off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Okay, but Grant Ward being nervous about his date. Cutest thing ever, right? I loved writing that. :)
> 
> Also, I'm doing a Q&A for New Year's, like I did last year, so if any of you out there have any questions for me about anything, just leave them in a review down below or drop them in my inbox over on tumblr: skyeward-otp.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go very well when Trip and Jemma find out about Skye dating Grant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Since I got some kinda sucky news earlier today, I figured I'll post this new chapter for ya to also make myself feel a little better because I love posting chapters to this story. So here you go. Have fun.
> 
> Enjoy!

Hearing her phone go off from its place on her desk, Skye glances down to see Grant's name on the screen signaling a new text message.

Picking up the device, she unlocks it and goes into her texts, opening the one from Grant.

_Hey beautiful. Any plans for tonight? I was thinking maybe we could grab some dinner._

Skye lets out a sigh and types back. **I would love to, but unfortunately I'm going to have to take a rain check on what I'm sure would be an amazing dinner. I have to work pretty late tonight.**

_That's too bad._

**Yeah, it really is. I miss your ruggedly handsome face. :)**

_We just saw each other two days ago, Skye._

**Hey, you're the one who asked me if I had plans tonight.**

_Fair point.  
_ _So that's a rain check on dinner, then?_

**Yeah. I'm really sorry.**

_It's fine. I completely understand. Your work is important to you and that company. We'll just have to get dinner another night._

**Looking forward to it. ;)**

_Me too._

"Earth to Skye."

Skye sets her phone down next to her as she looks up to see Trip leaning sideways against the edge of her desk.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you're coming to lunch," he repeats.

"Not right now," she tells him. "Taking a late lunch today so I can finish up what I'm doing here. If I take lunch now then I might lose my momentum with this project and I really don't want to do that."

"Aren't you losing your momentum by talking to me?" Trip asks with a small smile.

Skye lets out a laugh and gently shoves Trip. "Whatever. You're the one who came up to me."

Trip nods. "Alright, you got me there." He takes a deep breath. "How's that project coming anyways?" he asks her. "Heard it's a pretty big one."

Skye nods and lets out a breath, leaning back in her chair. "Yeah. Hopefully it'll impress the bosses and they'll start trusting me with some more big projects in the near future."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he tells her. "You're really great at what you do."

Skye smiles at him. "Thanks, Trip. That really means a lot."

"I'm glad," he says back with a smile. "So that's a no on joining me for lunch right now, right?"

Skye rolls her eyes. "Yes, Trip, I already told you."

He nods. "Right, right. But uh, there's just one more thing I wanna ask you about before I go. Just to satisfy some of my curiosity."

Skye furrows her brows. "Okay. Go ahead."

"Great." He shifts so he's sitting on her desk. "So, there's been this...smallish rumor going around the office that you went to the Fourth of July party with Grant Ward. That's just a rumor, right?"

Skye bites her bottom lip between her teeth and then shakes her head. "No, it isn't."

"Oh. Did he force you to take him there?"

"What? No," Skye says as she shakes her head, sitting up straighter in her chair. "I asked him to go to the party with me."

"You asked him? When did you talk to him long enough to ask him that?"

"That night after we all went out for drinks. He was in the area and he offered to walk me the rest of the way home. Then I asked him to go with me."

"Seriously?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. He's a really nice guy. Everyone in this town has him all wrong."

Trip stands from the desk. "Yeah, well, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into with him, Skye. You may think that he's a good guy, but he's _still_ a part of Hydra. Always has been, always will be."

"I know that, Trip," Skye says. "But he's not at all like you guys think he is. He's different."

"Well I really hope you're right, Skye," he says. "I've heard some stories about him. None of them are very pleasant."

"But that's just what they are," Skye says to him. "They're _stories_. Do you believe every story you hear about everyone?" she asks him. "Because that seems a lot like judging someone before actually getting to know them. I may have slightly believed everything I heard at first, but I decided to make my own choice about him instead of just listening to what everyone said."

"Well good luck with all that," Trip says as he slowly starts to back away from her desk. "Just don't say I didn't warn you if something ends up going horribly wrong." He turns around and makes his way towards the elevator.

"I appreciate your concern but I can take care of myself," she calls after his retreating form.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Skye leans back in her chair, her eyes drifting over to her cell phone.

Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, she turns back towards her computer and continues with her work.

.

.

.

"Hey Jemma," Skye greets her friend with a smile as she makes her way out into the company parking lot, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

"Oh, hello Skye," Jemma says, looking up at her briefly as she unlocks her car.

"I didn't know you were staying late too," Skye says, unlocking her own car that's sitting a few spaces away from Jemma's.

"Yes," Jemma says, not looking in Skye's eyes. "I um, I had an experiment that took a bit longer than I originally anticipated."

"Ah. So how'd it go?" she asks.

"Oh, um, very well, actually. Thank you."

"Hey, what's up with you?" Skye asks.

"I don't know what you mean," Jemma replies.

"You're looking everywhere except for right at me," Skye tells her. "Something's obviously up. I want to know what's going on."

"Nothing's going on," Jemma says.

"Bull," Skye says, causing Jemma's head to snap up to her. "That's a load of bull and you know it. Tell me what the hell's going on."

Jemma sighs and turns fully towards her. "Fine. If you're so insistent on knowing what's going on, I'll tell you." She takes a deep breath. "You're... _dating_ Grant Ward."

Skye's eyes go wide. "Seriously?"

Jemma shrugs nonchalantly. "You wanted to know."

"You've seriously been avoiding me because of who I'm _dating_? Are you kidding me right now?"

"He's a maniac, Skye, a monster, a menace."

"You don't even know him, Jemma," Skye says.

"I know all I need to know about him," Jemma retorts. "But even though I don't like the fact that you're choosing to be with him, I know I can't stop you."

"You're right," Skye says. "You can't stop me from dating Grant. I really like him, and I'm pretty sure he really likes me too."

"Well that's great for you," Jemma says. "Unfortunately, I don't think it's that great. And I don't know if I can be around you, knowing what I know."

Skye stills. "Wait. Are you saying that you can't be friends with me because of who I'm dating?"

Jemma shakes her head. "No, that's not at all what I'm saying."

"Sure as hell sounds like what you're saying."

"I'm worried, Skye, that you're going to get caught in the middle of all this Hydra nonsense, and that you might get hurt. I don't want to see that happen. And I don't think that I can be around you all the time knowing that you're dating that man who just so happens to be one of the worst members of Hydra, someone who's killed dozens of people. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Fine," Skye says. "If you're really going to be that way, then I guess this friendship is over. Because you obviously don't care enough to still try to be my friend despite who I'm dating. We may not have known each other for very long, but I thought you were better than this, Jemma, I really did." She pulls open her car door and climbs inside, immediately starting up the engine and pulling out of her parking space.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, she watches as Jemma stands at her car for a moment longer before climbing inside.

Letting out a sigh, Skye wipes at her eyes to keep the unshed tears at bay and then concentrates on the road again, turns left out of the parking lot, and heads home.

* * *

The trilling of his cell phone pulls Grant's attention away from the book he's reading.

Glancing over to where the device sits next to him on the bed, he smiles when he sees Skye's name and photo appear on the screen.

Picking his phone up, he hits the answer call button and holds the device up to his ear, setting his book off to the side.

"Hello, beautiful," he says into the receiver with a small smile on his face.

_"Hi."_

"Hey, what's up?"

_"Nothing, really. I just wanted to talk."_

"Okay." He shifts on his bed. "What do you want to talk about?"

_"I don't know. I just...I just want to hear your voice, I guess. Even though that's super cheesy to say."_

Grant chuckles. "It's fine. So how was work?"

_"Pretty okay. Sorry again that I had to cancel dinner tonight."_

"Skye, I already told you it's fine."

_"I know. I just feel bad."_

"Well don't. You don't have anything to feel bad about. I know you had to work late. Your work is important to you."

_"I'm really glad you're so understanding. Most people probably wouldn't say that."_

"That's because most people look at me and see the persona that I put on because of Hydra. But you, Skye, you know the real me. Or at least, I'm figuring out how to be the real me when I'm around you. I guess there's just something about you that makes me want to figure out who I really am away from all of this."

_"Seriously, Grant? That's not the kind of stuff you say over the phone."_

Grant's face falls. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

 _"No, no, no,"_ Skye says quickly. Grant lets out a breath. _"I just mean that the sweet stuff you said about me making you want to be better is the kind of thing that you should say in person."_

"Really? How come?"

_"Because then I can kiss you after you say it because it's actually kind of romantic."_

Grant smiles. "Well next time I say something like that I'll be sure it's in person."

_"Good."_

"Quick question, though," Grant says.

_"Shoot."_

"If I were to come over right now, and repeat what I said on the phone, to you in person, would I still get that kiss?"

Skye laughs. _"Nice try, Grant. But it's getting kind of late, so I think I'm just going to do some stuff on my laptop for a little while and then head to bed. Today was kind of a long, and somewhat exhausting, day."_

"Everything okay?" he asks.

_"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just a little tired."_

"Well did you at least eat some dinner?"

_"Kind of. But I promise you I'm fine. I'll see you soon, okay?"_

"Yeah, okay. Bye."

_"Bye."_

Pulling the phone down from his ear, Grant ends the call and remains sitting on his bed, holding his phone in his hand.

After a minute of thinking he sits up and swings his legs around so he's on the edge of his bed. He reaches out for his shoes and quickly slips them on his feet, lacing them up tight.

"Hey, Andrew," he calls out to his brother when he sees him walk by as he's putting on his shoes.

Andrew stops and leans into the room, hanging on the doorframe. "Yeah?"

"That pizza place we collect from, Marcel's, it's open late, right?"

Andrew furrows his brows in thought. "Uh, I think so. Why?"

Grant shrugs as he stands from his bed. "No reason. I just feel like pizza tonight." He slides his phone into his back pocket and moves towards his closet.

"Wait a second." Andrew steps fully into the room. "This is about a girl, isn't it?"

Grant freezes briefly on his way over to his closet. "What girl? There's no girl."

Andrew shakes his head. "No, there definitely is. You've been acting so different lately. Ever since the Fourth of July. A little before that, actually."

"So you automatically assume it's because of a girl?" Grant asks him.

"Well is it?" Andrew persists.

Grant just sighs.

Andrew pumps a fist in the air. "I knew it! I so knew it!"

"Would you be quiet?" Grant hisses. "I don't want anyone else here finding out. Especially Joey."

"No, yeah. Totally get it. If I had a girl I wouldn't want Joey to find out about her either. I'd try to keep her as far away from Hydra as possible."

"And that's what I'm trying to do with Skye. So don't say anything to Joey."

"You know I won't, Grant."

Grant nods. "I know." He turns and grabs his brown leather jacket out of his closet.

"So is she hot?" Andrew asks after a quiet moment.

Grant turns towards him and raises an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Andrew shrugs. "What? It's a perfectly valid question."

Grant sighs and pulls his phone out of his back pocket, unlocking it and going into his photo album. He finds the picture of him and Skye from the Fourth of July and holds it out to Andrew. "Here." He slips his jacket on, adjusting the sleeves and collar.

Andrew holds the phone in his hand and looks down at the photo. "Damn, Grant," Andrew says. "That's a fine one you got yourself."

Grant snatches his phone out of his brother's hands. "She's not a piece of meat, Andrew. She's a person. A really nice person who, for some reason that still isn't quite clear to me, wants to go out with me. So I'm savoring the time I have with her while it lasts."

Andrew holds his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry. My bad. Didn't mean to offend." He drops his hands. "She looks like a great girl."

Grant gives his brother a hint of a smile. "She really is."

.

.

.

Making his way down the sidewalk, Grant approaches the pizza shop, taking notice of the darkened interior and the closed sign hanging in the door window.

Stepping closer to the door, Grant hits the wood frame a few times with his fist.

"Marcel! Open up!" he shouts through the glass door as he pounds his fist against the wooden frame again. "I know you're in there."

A minute later, a short, stoutly man with a small mustache and almost bald head approaches the door, a slightly panicked look on his face.

"Your payment isn't ready yet. Not due until next month."

"I'm not here to collect, Marcel," Grant tells him. "I'm here to get a pie. Now open the door and let me inside before I smash my way through the glass."

Marcel quickly unlocks the shop door and pulls it open, allowing Grant to step inside.

"Thank you," he says.

"Of course," Marcel replies in a shaky voice. "What would you like me to make for you?"

"Give me two medium pies with pepperoni, olives, tomatoes, and bacon. Extra sauce, too. And this is to go, obviously."

Marcel nods. "Of course. You can uh, you can sit and wait out here while I make your pizzas. And uh, I know I probably shouldn't ask, but will you be...paying for these tonight?"

Grant tilts his head in thought. "I'll take it out of your next collection. You can keep whatever I'd owe for the pizzas."

"But what about your brother?"

"I'll make sure Joey knows you only owe half the amount."

"Oh, thank you so much."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm feeling a little generous tonight. Don't expect it to happen again. Now get back there and make those pizzas before I find something out here to hit you over the head with."

Marcel nods. "Right away." He turns around and scurries back into the kitchen area to start on the pizzas.

Grabbing one of the upturned chairs off of a nearby table, Grant sits down in the chair and lets out a small sigh.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he unlocks it and begins to entertain himself as he waits for his pizzas.

* * *

"What were those morons thinking?" Skye asks herself as she scrolls through a long page of code on her computer. "Over half of this coding is all wrong. No wonder their website sucks and doesn't work properly. This is definitely going to take a long time to sort out and fix."

Hearing a knock at her door, Skye turns her head towards it and furrows her brows. She stands up from the couch, setting her laptop on the coffee table in front of her, and makes her way over to the front door.

Pulling it open, she smiles softly when she sees Grant standing on the other side. "Hey, you."

"Hey," he says back. "You sounded kind of down on the phone earlier. Figured I'd come over. And I brought some actual dinner." He holds up two pizza boxes. "Pizza from Marcel's. Freshly made just for you."

"You are the absolute best," she says with a smile. She reaches out and grabs the boxes out of his hands, making her way back into her apartment.

Grant chuckles and steps inside the apartment, closing the door behind him.

"So, you want to tell me what had you so upset today?" he asks her, toeing off his shoes by the door and removing his jacket, hanging it on the hook just inside the door.

"I don't know what you mean," she says back, opening the pizza box as she sits down on the couch. She grabs a slice out of the box and immediately takes a bite.

Grant moves towards her, standing on the other side of the coffee table and folding his arms across his chest. "Skye," he says, "I know something's up. So what is it?"

Skye sighs and looks up at him. "Do you really want to know?"

He steps around the table and sits down next to her. "Yeah, I really want to know."

"Fine." She sets her slice of pizza back in the box and leans back in her seat. She looks over at Grant. "I kind of got into an argument with Trip and Jemma today at work."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, they may have found out about you and me dating and got upset. They basically told me that I shouldn't date you and all that nonsense that pretty much everyone else would say. I think if it had been anyone else it wouldn't be that big of a deal for me, but because it was my friends, it just hurt a little bit more, you know?" She wipes a few escaped tears from her cheeks and lets out a small laugh. "Gosh, I don't even know why I'm crying right now." She swallows thickly. "And Jemma pretty much told me that as long as you and I are dating then she can't be around me because she's too worried about me getting hurt because of Hydra."

"I would never let happen," Grant tells her.

She smiles softly. "I know. That's why you're my knight."

"In brown leather," Grant adds with a small smile.

Skye nods. "Yes. And I know you would never let anything bad happen to me, but everyone's just too stubborn to think even for a second that you're not at all like they think you are. I just wish they would take the time to see that."

"I know you would," he says. "But even if they won't, you know the truth, and I know the truth. That's all that really matters, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good. Oh, I should probably tell you that my younger brother Andrew knows about us too."

"He does?"

Grant nods."Yeah. He found out tonight before I came over. I didn't tell him, though; he kind of figured it out himself."

"Oh, okay."

"But I made him promise not to tell our older brother Joey. I don't want him finding out about this just yet. We're still finding our footing and Joey could just mess all of this up. I don't want that. I just want to keep what we have here away from Joey and Hydra for as long as I possibly can. Nothing good will come from that."

Skye nods. "I get that. I don't think I want Hydra to get their grip in this either. But do I get to meet Andrew anytime soon? I've heard he's not as bad as anyone else in Hydra, that he's just kind of there."

Grant gives her a small smile. "Yeah, he doesn't really do anything horribly bad. And one day soon you'll get to meet him, I promise. He wants to meet you too. He said you're hot when I showed him your picture."

Skye can't help but smile. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm."

Skye shifts on the couch so she's facing Grant. "And what about you? Do you think I'm hot too?"

Grant just smiles, reaching out to cradle the back of her head in his hand, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.

Skye smiles against his lips. "Good answer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> If anyone's interested, I'd love to get some questions from you guys for my Q&A that I'm doing for New Year's. You can ask me anything you'd like. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant meets Fitz, and Skye introduces Grant to the Harry Potter universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Got some down time today so I figured I'd update this wonderful story for you all. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

"You do know that you didn't actually have to walk me to work today, right?" Skye asks her boyfriend as they make their way, hand in hand, down the sidewalk towards her work.

Grant nods. "Yes I do. Your car is in the shop, Skye. And you won't be able to drive it again until next week after it's fixed."

"I could have just taken the bus," she tells him.

Grant shakes his head. "Trust me, there are a lot of things that can go wrong on the city bus. By me walking you to work I can make sure you're safe and that you actually make it to work on time."

"So this has absolutely nothing to do with you just wanting to spend more alone time with me?" she asks teasingly.

"That's definitely an added bonus," he says with a smile. "I really like spending time with you so I'm going to take every chance I can get and run with it."

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too." He leans down and presses a quick kiss to her lips. "There's no way you're going to get rid of me anytime soon."

"Wouldn't even dream of it," she replies. She leans into his side more as they continue to make their way down the sidewalk, keeping themselves occupied with idle conversation as they go.

"Here we are," Skye says once they reach the front entrance to SHIELD Industries.

Grant lets out a breath. "Wow, big place."

Skye shrugs. "Doesn't really seem that big once you're actually inside and occupied with work."

"I guess this is where we must say goodbye, then," he says, turning to face her.

Skye rolls her eyes. "Stop sounding so dramatic, Grant. I'll see you after I get off work. You're still coming over, right?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. We're reading that one book about that wizard kid, right?"

Skye gapes at him with wide eyes. "Are you serious right now?"

"What?"

"You just called _Harry Potter,_ one of the absolute greatest book series' off all time, 'that one book about that wizard kid'."

"That's what it is, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah. But it's also so much more than that."

"Like what?"

Skye smiles. "You're just going to have to wait until I get off work to find out."

"You do know I could always just find it at a library or book store and read it on my own, right?"

"True," Skye says with a small nod. "But reading it together will be so much more fun."

"I'm going to be reading it aloud to you, aren't I?" he says.

Skye smiles wide. "You know me so well."

"And I plan on getting to know you more and more as the days go by."

"Well I think that sounds like an excellent plan." She leans up and presses a lingering kiss to his lips. She pulls away a fraction of an inch and just smiles. "I'll miss you while I'm at work."

"I'll miss you too."

"Skye?"

Pulling away more and turning her head, Skye sees Fitz standing near her and Grant, a nervous smile on his face and his ID badge in hand.

She gives him a soft smile. "Hey, Fitz. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

Skye shrugs. "Doing alright. Car's broken and in the shop so I had to walk to work today."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah, it is." There's a brief pause before Skye speaks up again. "Are you upset with me too, Fitz? You know, about me dating Grant?"

Fitz shakes his head. "Oh, um, no, not really. It is a bit...odd and a little unnerving seeing you two together, though, but it's not really my place to judge who you decide to spend your time with. And we haven't known each for very long so it's not really my place to tell you how to live your life either. Even if we had known each other longer, it still wouldn't be my place. It's your life."

Skye smiles wide. "I'm really glad you see it that way, Fitz."

"Yeah. And uh, I saw you out here and I just wanted to come over here apologize for how Jemma's been acting towards you. She means well, though, she doesn't want to see you get hurt. She's very protective of the people she cares about."

Skye nods. "I know, and thank you, Fitz. I might have been a little harsh in my reaction to her thoughts, but I just wish she could lighten up at least a little bit and try to see things from my perspective and maybe even get to know Grant a little."

"That would be nice," Fitz agrees with a small nod. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually." He hesitates for a moment before turning his attention to Grant. "I'm Leo Fitz, by the way," he tells him. "Everyone just calls me Fitz. I work at SHIELD Industries with Skye. Different department, though."

"Which department?" Grant asks him.

"Research and Development."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive. You guys must get to work with some pretty cool toys there."

Fitz nods and gives a small smile. "Yeah, we do. Everything we have is state of the art."

"And are you on the research side or the development side of things?"

"Mostly development," Fitz answers. "But sometimes I help Jemma out with research. My degree is in engineering."

"Very cool. I don't have a degree in anything considering I never actually went to college, or even finished high school for that matter, but I think I would have liked to have done something in literature or history. Those two have always interested me."

"I think you should have gotten a degree for either of those, then gotten a Masters in teaching, and then become a college professor," Skye tells him.

Grant smiles down at her. "You just want to see me in a suit like most professors wear."

Skye smiles back up at him and nods. "You would look very handsome in one of those classic college professor tweed suits."

"I'll keep that in mind for future reference," he says back.

"Wow," Fitz says.

Grant and Skye both turn their heads to look back at him.

"What?" Skye asks him.

Fitz shakes his head. "Nothing. It's just, you're not at all what everyone always said you were like," he directs at Grant.

Grant gives him a small smile. "There's a lot more to me than just what everyone sees when I'm out doing stuff for Hydra, Fitz."

"And I get the privilege of getting to see those other wonderful things," Skye says with a smile.

"You're also the first one," Grant tells her. "Besides Andrew, of course. But even then, I still keep myself pretty locked down."

"Well I, for one, am glad that you're choosing to open up." Skye turns to Fitz. "Hey, um, I don't know if this'll be weird for you or anything, but do you maybe want to hang out with me and Grant this weekend? We could go out to dinner, or maybe go bowling or something."

"Um, that sounds fun, but I'm actually already busy this weekend. But maybe next weekend we could get together?" Fitz replies.

"That'd be great," Skye says with a smile. She looks up at her boyfriend. "Can you do next weekend?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, of course."

"Awesome." She looks back at Fitz. "I'll text you later so we can figure something out."

"Great. I uh, I guess I'll see you inside." He looks at Grant. "Um, it was, uh...I'll see you next weekend." He gives Grant a tight smile and then turns around and continues making his way towards the entrance of the office building.

Skye turns her full attention back to Grant and smiles up at him. "I'll see you tonight?"

Grant smiles and nods. "Yes." He leans down to press his lips to hers. "Have a good day at work."

"I'll try," she replies, reluctantly pulling away from him and walking towards the front doors of SHIELD Industries.

* * *

"Alright," Grant breathes out as he falls down onto Skye's couch, "where is this book I am supposed to finally read tonight?"

"On the book shelf," Skye replies from within the confines of her kitchen.

Grant lets out a breath and stands up from the couch again, moving across the room towards the bookshelf sitting below the TV.

He squats down in front of it, eyes running over the spines of the few books on Skye's shelf.

"There aren't that many books on here," Grant comments as he grabs the first Harry Potter book off the lowest shelf and moves back to sit on the couch.

Skye emerges from the kitchen carrying a couple of bowls and some sodas. "That's because I'm not really too much of a reader. But I absolutely love the _Harry Potter_ series." She sets the bowls and glasses down on the coffee table and sits down next to Grant, pulling her legs up underneath of her. "My dad's a huge nerd too so we would read them together all the time. I completely fell in love with the series growing up. And then when they were made into movies, my dad and I went to as many of the premieres as we could together."

"There are movies?" Grant asks.

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. I have all of them on DVD."

"Well then why don't we just watch those instead?" he asks. "It'll be much faster to just watch the movies instead of having to read the books."

Skye shakes her head. "No, absolutely not. In order to get the full wizarding world experience in all of its magnificent and magical glory, you must first read the books and then watch the films. Otherwise you don't get all the background information and other little pieces that aren't included in the movies. There's so much good stuff in the books that unfortunately never made it into the movies. So many things are explained throughout the books that they really didn't have time for or were just too lazy to do with the movies."

"You really want me to like these books, don't you?" Grant says with a smile.

"I don't want you to just like them, Grant, I want you to absolutely and completely love them. Just like I do."

Grant chuckles. "Alright, well, we'll just have to see what happens. Now what are those?" he asks, pointing to the bowls and glasses sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"Provisions," she replies. "We are going to read as much of this book tonight as we possibly can. And in order to do so, we need snacks and drinks to keep our bellies full."

"You seem to have this all figured out," Grant says.

Skye nods. "Yes I do. I take Harry Potter and the wizarding very seriously."

Grant smiles. "I can tell."

"Just wanted to make sure you're aware."

"Well I am now, thank you."

She leans up to press a kiss to his cheek. "You're welcome." She sits back down and leans into Grant's side, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Now start reading." She breathes in deep with a smile on her face. "I'm so excited."

"You've already read this book, Skye. And I'm guessing more than just a couple of times. What could you possibly be excited for?"

She tilts her head back to smile up at him. "You to read it for the first time."

"I make no promises that I'm going to enjoy it," he tells her.

"See, you say that now, but I'm pretty sure that you're going to end up loving it."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, then."

"Yes we will," she says with a smile, leaning further into his side and tucking her head back into the crook of his neck. "Now read."

Grant chuckles. "Alright, alright." He leans back into the couch, drapes an arm around Skye's shoulder, and holds the book in his lap. He opens the front cover and flips to the first page. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," he reads. "By J.K. Rowling. Chapter one, The Boy Who Lived." He takes a deep breath, adjusting the book slightly. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."

.

.

.

"One minute to go and he'd be eleven," Grant reads aloud from the open book in his hand. "Thirty seconds...twenty...ten...nine—maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him—three...two...one... BOOM. The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in."

Glancing down when he reaches the end of the chapter, Grant smiles when he sees Skye lying asleep in his lap, her lips parted slightly as she breathes softly. Unfolding the dust cover of the front of the book, he slides it into place inside the open pages and closes the book. Leaning forward slightly, being careful not to disturb Skye just yet, he sets the book down on the coffee table.

Shifting on the couch, he carefully lifts Skye's head off of his lap so he can stand up and stretch his legs out a bit after having sat on the couch for so long.

Stooping down, he slides one arm under Skye's legs and the other under her back, standing up and lifting her off of the couch. He pauses for a quick moment as Skye shifts in his arms, turning towards him and burying her face in his chest, her arms going around his upper torso.

He just smiles to himself as he moves through her apartment and down the hall towards her bedroom. He finds her bedroom door slightly ajar and pushes it open the rest of the way with his foot, moving inside and crossing the floor to her bed.

Standing next to her bed, he gently lies her down on it, pulling the blankets out from underneath of her and tucking them over and around her sleeping form.

He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Skye," he whispers and then stands up straight.

Turning around, he goes to make his way back out of the room when he feels a hand tugging at his shirt. He looks down and behind him to see Skye's hand wrapped loosely around the hem of his t-shirt, looking up at him through half-asleep eyes.

"Stay."

He turns fully towards her, her hand dropping from his shirt as he does so. "What?"

"Stay with me," she tells him.

"I need to go home so I can go to sleep."

"Sleep here," she replies, reaching behind her to pat the empty bed space next to her.

Grant sighs. "If I say yes will you go back to sleep?"

Skye smiles and nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Alright." He moves around to the other side of the bed and quickly tugs off his jeans, leaving them in a pile on the carpet. Pulling back the covers of the bed, he climbs underneath and lies on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

Next thing he knows, Skye is rolling over to face him and curling up against his side, resting her head on his chest and wrapping an arm around his torso.

"I like to cuddle," she tells him.

"Yeah, I can see that. Go to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Skye mumbles, already falling back into her deep sleep.

Grant just smiles and drops a kiss to the top of her head as he wraps an arm around her waist to hold her close, closes his eyes, and lets sleep overtake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Now Grant and Fitz have met, and the three of them are planning on getting together. Who's excited for that? I am. :)
> 
> Also, still looking for some more questions to answer in my New Year's Q&A that I'm doing. If you want, you can give me any kind of question you'd like, just leave it in a review down below. Thanks!
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone apologizes, and we find out why Trip hates Hydra so much, and anyone affiliated with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Hope everyone had a great holiday season. 2016 is almost over, so this is gonna be the last chapter for this year. :) I'm so glad you're all enjoying this story so far. Makes me really happy. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

"It's a fairly simple program, so I really don't get what's so hard about it for you to understand," Skye says to the man standing next to her desk.

"I'm not saying that I don't understand it," the man replies. "It's just a little confusing, that's all."

Skye rolls her eyes. "That's basically what not understanding it is, Kevin. Also, why are you even coming to me with this? I'm still pretty green here, why don't you go talk to Wayne about it?"

"See, I would do that, but I don't know if you've noticed how our dear old supervisor doesn't really seem to have much of a clue about what he's actually doing when it comes to all of this."

Skye nods. "Yeah, I've started seeing a pattern with him. But it still doesn't explain why you're coming to me about this problem instead of one of the other guys who's been here way longer than I have."

Kevin sighs and leans forward slightly, lowering her voice. "To be honest, Skye, you're way more competent about most of this stuff than any of the other guys here."

Skye gives him a small smile. "Thanks, Kevin."

"I'm just telling it like it is," he replies. "There are a few others here who agree with me one hundred percent on that fact."

"Well I appreciate it," she tells him. "Can I come by your cubicle in about…fifteen minutes to help you with that? I'm in the middle of something and if I stop now to help you then I'm going to completely lose my train of thought with it."

Kevin nods. "Oh, yeah, of course. I'll just be over at my cubicle waiting."

"Great. I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah." Kevin turns around, carrying his laptop with him, and makes his way back over to his cubicle across the room.

Skye smiles and shakes her head, turning her attention back to her own computer, typing a few more lines of complex code into the program on her screen.

"Skye?"

Looking up from her laptop, Skye sees Jemma standing next to her desk, wringing her hands nervously in front of her.

"Hey, Jemma," she says, turning her chair towards the woman and leaning back. "What's up?"

"Oh, well, I um, I just wanted to come here and apologize to you."

"Apologize for what?" Skye asks her.

"For the way I acted in the parking lot that day and for how I've been avoiding you," Jemma clarifies.

"You don't need to apologize to me, Jemma. It may have hurt a little, but I understand why you did what you did."

"Even if you understand, I still feel like I need to apologize. It was wrong of me to act that way towards you simply because of who you're choosing to date. I've lived here for quite a while and have only ever heard terrible things about Hydra and the Ward's. It's never occurred to me, or anyone else for that matter, that any of them could be any different than what's always been said about them."

"It's fine, Jemma, I get it. Like I said, it hurt a little when you said all those things about Grant, but I understand."

"So does this mean that you accept my apology?" Jemma asks. "Or are you going to make me do something ridiculous and possibly grovel at your feet?"

Skye purses her lips. "As tempting as it sounds to see you groveling at my feet, especially right here in the office, I won't make you do that. I accept your apology."

Jemma smiles. "Oh, that's wonderful. I'm so happy that you do. I hated not speaking to you, but I was just upset and extremely concerned. I really am sorry."

"Well I appreciate it. And I've hated not talking to you either. I don't like fighting with my friends."

"Neither do I," Jemma assures her. "And I think that I need to apologize to Grant as well. Even though I never insulted him directly to his face, I did say some horrible things that I want to apologize for."

Skye smiles. "I think he'd like that. If you want to, you can apologize to him this weekend. He, Fitz, and I are all getting together to hang out. You can come too, if you want. It'll give you a chance to get to know him better."

Jemma takes a deep breath. "I think…I think I can do that."

"Really?"

Jemma nods. "Yes. It may take a little while getting used to being around him, but I think a night out with a group will help to ease the transition."

"That really means a lot to me, Jemma. You were my friend first, but Grant's a part of my life and I really like him. So I'd love it if you and Fitz could at least try and get to know him."

"I think that sounds doable," Jemma says.

Skye smiles. "Awesome. I'm really glad. I just wish Trip would come around too. He's the first person I met here, besides the boss, and I don't want to lose him as a friend."

"It may be a bit harder for Trip to come around," Jemma tells her.

Skye furrows her brows. "Really? Why?"

"One of his best friends was brutally beaten by some Hydra members a few years back. The poor thing was on life support in the hospital for a long time, it was so bad. He ended up passing away from his injuries so Trip has a pretty personal hatred towards anyone in Hydra."

"Wow," Skye says. "I had no idea."

"He doesn't like to talk about it. But you can see why he'd be more hesitant to be in the same room as Grant."

"Was Grant one of the attackers?"

Jemma shakes her head. "I don't know. The police could never get a clear answer as to who was involved. But it doesn't make much of a difference to Trip. To him, everyone in Hydra is the same."

"Hopefully he'll come around eventually," Skye says.

"Yes, hopefully."

Skye takes a deep breath. "So, I'll text you later when we figure out what we're going to do next weekend."

"Sounds great. I'll see you at lunch?"

Skye smiles and nods. "Absolutely."

"Great." Jemma gives her another smile before turning around and making her way back towards the elevators.

.

.

.

Making her way into the nearly empty break room, Skye stops just inside and slides her phone into her back pocket when she sees Trip standing over by the sink.

Taking a deep breath, she walks towards him and leans back against the counter, casually crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I didn't know," she says after a quiet moment. "About your friend," she clarifies. "I had no idea."

"It's not something I really like talking about," Trip replies. "He was practically my brother," he continues, staring down into the empty sink, his knuckles turning white as he grips the edge of the counter. "And those animals beat him to death."

"I'm so sorry," Skye says with tears in her eyes. "That must not have been easy for you or his family."

"It wasn't. But we got through it. Leaned on one another to stay strong."

"I understand now why you're so against me dating Grant. But you have to know that he's not at all like the rest of those guys."

"I'm sure he isn't," Trip says. "We may not have known each other for very long, but you don't seem like the type who would date someone who's intentionally cruel to people."

"You're right about that," Skye says with a small nod.

"And you seem happy, which is great. But I just...it's still going to take some time for me to be used to the idea. I don't want to lose you as a friend, but I don't know how long it'll take me to be okay with him being around you."

"And that's fine," she says. "I understand. I don't want to lose you as a friend either. Grant does make me happy, and I really care about him. If you want to, you can come bowling with us next weekend. Jemma and Fitz are going to be there too. Obviously you don't have to come, but the offer stands."

"Thanks. I'll uh, I'll think about it."

Skye nods. "Great, okay. So uh, I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Skye waits a quick moment before turning and making her way back out of the break room.

* * *

"I'm back," Skye calls out as she steps through the door of her apartment, closing the door behind her and dropping her laptop bag on her couch.

"Hey," Grant says as he steps out of her kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel. He steps up to her and gives her a quick kiss, one hand landing on her waist. "How was work?" he asks when he pulls away.

Skye lets out a sigh as she falls down onto her couch. "It was okay. But I uh, I made up with Jemma."

"You did?" He smiles at her. "That's great, Skye."

"Yeah. She just came up to me while I was at my desk and apologized for how she'd basically been shutting me out since she found out about me and you being together."

"So you two are back on speaking terms, then?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. And I'm really glad about it too. Jemma is a really great friend and I hated being on the outs with her."

"Well I'm glad you two were able to reconcile," he tells her with a small smile.

"Me too. But I'm still on the outs with Trip. I don't think it's as bad as it was at first, though. Jemma told me why he's so against us being together and I talked to him about it."

"Why is he so against it?" Grant asks.

"Apparently one of his friends was killed by some Hydra guys. They didn't kill him directly, but they beat him up pretty bad and he died in the hospital because of it."

"Wow. That's rough."

Skye nods. "Yeah. I can't even imagine what that must've been like for them."

"Skye, you have to believe that I had nothing to do with that. I've messed people up a few times, even put some of them in the hospital, but never to the point where they've died. I know how to restrain myself."

Skye places a hand on his cheek, giving him a small smile. "I know, Grant. But Trip seems to still be pretty broken up about it. I think deep down he wants to believe that you had nothing to do with it, but it's going to take some time. I just hope he comes around soon. I miss him."

"He sounds like a great guy."

Skye smiles. "He is." She takes a deep breath. "So, what did you get up to here today while I was off at work slaving away to bring home the bacon?"

Grant chuckles. "Not much in the morning. Although, since I did end up getting bored eventually, I decided to clean up your place a little bit."

"Is that what the dish towel is all about?" Skye asks, gesturing to the dirty cloth now sitting on the coffee table.

Grant scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, I uh, your kitchen looked kind of dirty, like it hadn't been cleaned in months."

"Probably because it hasn't been."

"What?"

"Don't think you know this about me yet, but I'm not much of a 'cleaning every room in the house all the time' kind of person. I mean, obviously I tidy up every now and then because I'm not a complete slob, but I've never really been a 'deep cleaning' type of person."

"I figured as much when I saw the state of your kitchen," he replies. "So I took the liberty of cleaning it up for you. I did the dishes, cleaned out your fridge and cabinets, scrubbed the floors, and even took out the garbage."

"Wow. If I had known having a man around the house would be so handy I would have done this when I first moved here."

"Good to know that's all I'm good for," he teases.

Skye smiles at him. "Oh, trust me, you're good for a lot more than that." She leans forward and presses her lips to his, the smile still on her face.

"So cleaning and kissing, that's all I'm good for?" he asks jokingly.

Skye laughs and lightly shoves his shoulder. "I promise I don't keep you around just for cleaning and kissing. I actually do enjoy your company, Grant."

"And I enjoy yours. Which I can't exactly say about very many people. You're one of the lucky ones."

Skye smiles. "I'm special."

Grant smiles and nods. "That you are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Alright, Skye and Jemma are speaking again, yay! And we now know why Trip hates Hydra so much.
> 
> Looking for more questions to answer for my New Year's Q&A that I'm doing this year, and I love for you guys to send in some questions for me. They can be about anything; my life, my likes and dislikes, my fics, whatever you want. I'm game. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bowling night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! I really enjoyed writing this one, one part in particular that I just thought to add in today when I was rereading it. See if you can figure out which part it is. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

  
"Part of me is still to process that Jemma is actually going to join us tonight," Grant says to Skye as she drives them down the street towards the bowling alley.

Skye nods. "Same here. I was honestly a little surprised that she agreed to come because she really wasn't your biggest fan before, but she said that she genuinely wants to. Mainly because she wants to apologize to you, but still, she agreed to join us for bowling."

"Apologize for what?" Grant asks.

"For calling you a monster, a murderer, and a psycho. She didn't actually say those last two out loud, but I could tell by the look on her face that she was probably thinking them."

"She really wants to apologize to me? She never even said those things to my face. I never would have known unless you told me about it, like you just did."

Skye nods. "I know. But I think it's the British in her. I've heard they're always super polite. Or at least, they try to be. I've also heard they can be really smooth and you don't even know you've been insulted because they're just so chill about it."

"Ah."

"And when I talked to Trip at the beginning of the week I invited him to join us, too, but I don't think he'll show up. I want him to get to know you also, but I think it's going to take a little while longer for him to come around to the idea of you and me being together."

"You just have to be patient," Grant tells her. "Give him some time to come to terms with this whole thing on his own."

Skye sighs. "I know. I just really want him to be okay with this."

"So do I," Grant says. "I don't want you to lose your friend just because you're dating me. I'd probably feel way too guilty."

"I don't want you to feel guilty for what's happening between me and my friends, okay?" she says to him, briefly glancing over at him before focusing back on the road. "At least Fitz and Jemma are trying to be okay with it. So if anything, I've got them back in my life. I mean, Fitz was never really out of my life because he and I never exactly got into any kind of argument, but I'm still glad he's making an effort to get to know you."

"Yeah. I just hope nothing goes wrong tonight."

"Nothing is going to go wrong," Skye assures him. "Everything's going to be fine. You say you never come to this part of town so it's not like anyone here is going to know you."

"Just because I don't come down here doesn't mean no one is going to know who I am," he tells her. "I don't want my being here to cause any problems for you."

"You are not a problem," she tells him, reaching over to place her hand in his. "You are my boyfriend and I want to hang out with you in public. If the people who work at the bowling alley don't want you there then we'll just go somewhere else, it's no big deal."

"But you want to go bowling," he says.

"And we'll go bowling. Even if we have to create our own awkward game out of pop bottles and tennis balls in the middle of a parking lot or driveway."

Grant sighs. "If you say so."

"I do say so. Now quit being all mopey. I want you to be happy, or at least as happy as you can be, while we're bowling. Think you can do that for me?"

Grant glances over at her and smiles. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

.

.

.

"Fitz, I'm so glad you're here," Skye greets her friend with a hug when she sees him as she steps through the front doors of the bowling alley after having paid for her and Grant's entrance. "You too, Jemma," she says to the other woman, pulling her into a hug as well.

"Thanks for inviting us," Jemma says. "I haven't been bowling in ages."

"Neither have I," Skye says. "But I will have you all know that I am amazing at bowling."

"You told me you suck at sports," Grant speaks up.

"Bowling is the obvious exception to that."

Grant nods. "Of course it is."

"Should we go get some shoes and find a lane?" Skye asks the small group. "Then maybe one of us can go and get some food for us to eat while we play?"

"Sounds good to me," Grant says, wrapping an arm around Skye's waist to hold her close. "I'm kind of in the mood for nachos right now. Do they have nachos here?" he asks his girlfriend.

"Well we can definitely find out," she tells him. "Now come on." She pulls out of Grant's hold to grab his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, and pull him with her towards the front counter. "Four pairs of bowling shoes and a lane, please."

"Sizes?" the man asks, a blank look on his face.

"I'm a seven," she tells him. She looks up at her boyfriend. "Grant?"

"Ten, please," Grant says to the man.

"And you two?" the man asks, looking over at Fitz and Jemma.

"Size seven, as well, please," Jemma replies.

"And I'll take a size nine," Fitz answers.

"Please remove your shoes and set them on the counter. I'll be right back." He turns and walks into the row of shelves housing the bowling shoes.

While he's gone, Skye, Grant, Fitz, and Jemma all remove their own shoes and set them on the countertop, waiting patiently for the man to appear again.

"Here are your shoes," the man says when he reappears back behind the desk, setting four pairs of bowling shoes down on the counter top. "Lane 10 down at the far end is open for you to use. Would you like the bumpers to be put up?"

"No, thanks," Skye says, taking her bowling shoes off of the counter. "I think we'll all be fine without the bumpers."

"Very well then. Enjoy your game."

Skye lets out a breath and moves over to one of the benches near the counter to sit down and lace up her bowling shoes.

Grant sits down next to her on the bench and quickly laces up his own shoes.

Once all four of them have their bowling shoes on their feet and laced up, they make their way to the end of the room towards lane ten.

"Alright," Skye says when they reach the lane, already tapping at the screen attached to the table to get the game set up, "how do we want to do the ordering of names?"

"We could just do it alphabetically," Jemma suggests. "Either backwards or forwards."

Skye nods. "Good plan. I like it." She focuses on the screen and taps on it, inputting all of their names into the machine.

"All done," she says after she finishes setting up the game. She looks up at the rest of the group. "So how do we want to play this?" Skye asks.

"I thought we'd just roll the ball down the lane," Grant says. "Unless there's a new way to play that I don't know about."

Skye rolls her eyes. "No, there's no new way. I just meant are we going to play one on one on one on one? Or do we want to do two on two, and the duo with the better combined score wins?"

"I kind of like the two on two thing," Grant says.

"Me too," Fitz pipes in. "How do we want to split?" he asks.

"Me and Grant against you and Jemma?" Skye suggests.

"Works for me," Grant answers.

"Me as well," Jemma says.

"Great," Skye says. "And to up the stakes a little, loser pays for next double-date night? Because if tonight is a success, we should definitely have more double-date nights."

"Is this a double-date?" Jemma asks, slight nervousness written on her face.

"Um, kind of," Skye replies. "I mean, unless that's weird for you guys." She looks back and forth between Fitz and Jemma.

Jemma and Fitz look at each other and have a silent conversation before looking back at Grant and Skye.

"No, it's not weird," Fitz tells her. "Just took us a bit by surprise is all. We just thought it was a group outing."

"Ah," Skye says with a nod. She takes a deep breath. "So are we all agreed that loser pays for the next group outing?" she says with a small smile towards Fitz and Jemma.

"I think it's a great idea," Grant tells her.

"So do I," Fitz says. "I think group outings every so often could be fun. What do you think, Jemma?"

Jemma gives them all a smile and nods her head. "Yes, I think that sounds fun."

"Then it's settled," Skye says with a smile. "Group outings every month or so and the loser of tonight's match pays for the next outing." She takes a deep breath. "Now then, shall we play?"

Jemma nods. "Yes, let's. I believe that if we are to go by the order of names on the machine, then Fitz is up first." Jemma smiles over at her friend.

"Right," Fitz says with a small nod. "I am up first." He moves towards the lane as Jemma, Skye, and Grant all sit down around the table.

Grabbing one of the colored bowling balls out of the rack, Fitz holds it in both of his hands as he moves towards the start of the lane.

He takes a moment to whisper to himself as he looks down at the other end of the lane. Then he pulls his arm back, takes a few steps forward, throws his arm forward and releases the ball.

The four adults wait with bated breath as the bowling ball rolls down the lane towards the pins.

"Nice!" Skye exclaims when the ball knocks down six of the ten pins. She leans back in her seat and smiles to herself. "This was such a great idea."

.

.

.

"Woo!" Skye cheers, throwing her arms up into the air. "Another strike for my man." She beams up at Grant as he walks back over to the table. "How many is that now for you?"

Grant shrugs. "A few."

"A few?" Skye repeats. "Oh, I think it's more than 'a few'. You are on fire, you're the King of Strikes. I never knew you were so good at this game."

"Neither did I," Grant replies. "But I've always had really good hand-eye coordination, so that's probably all it is." He looks across the table. "Alright, Jemma, your go."

The Brit takes a deep breath. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"Since I have a break in the excitement for a moment, I am going to run to the bathroom really quick," Skye tells the group. "Even though the bathrooms in these places can be all sorts of shady, I really have to pee."

"But what about your turn?" Grant asks her. "You're up next."

"Don't worry. Jemma still has to go. I'll be back before it's my turn. Unless the line is ridiculously long. But I promise I'll be back as quickly as possible."

She leans down to give him a quick kiss before turning around and making her way towards the bathrooms.

"I'll be right back too," Fitz speaks up. "I need a refill on my drink." He stands from his chair and makes his way up towards the refreshment area.

"So," Grant says as Jemma picks up a ball out of the conveyor, "you work with Fitz in R & D?"

Jemma nods as she examines the ball. "Yes, I do."

"That must be an exciting job."

"It can be." She quietly moves up to the start of the lane and gracefully launches the ball forward, watching as it knocks over two pins along the edge.

She turns around and moves back over to the conveyor, stopping briefly before continuing towards the table, standing on the opposite side across from Grant.

"I need to say something."

"What is it?" Grant asks.

"I need to apologize, actually, for some things I said about you after I realized that you and Skye started dating. The things I said were completely uncalled for, and I realize now that they were entirely inaccurate."

"Oh, well, uh, thanks, I guess."

She gives a slight nod. "You're welcome. I see now that you're not as bad as everyone says you are. And that you seem to be really great for Skye."

"Well thank you, Jemma. That means a lot. You're one of Skye's closest friends here and I'd really hate it for you two to be on the outs because of me."

"It's quite alright," Jemma tells him. "We've talked and I think things are going to be much better going forward. I'm going to do my best to not be so weird or uncomfortable around you."

Grant smiles. "That sounds like a good plan. But don't force it, okay? Everything will happen naturally as it should."

"That's some great advice for all aspects of life," Jemma replies.

"My grandmother had a lot of good advice for me growing up."

"She sounds like an amazing woman."

Grant smiles at the thought of his late grandmother. "She really was."

"Grant, I want you to know something," Jemma says to him.

"What?"

She leans forward, resting her hands flat on the table in between them and looks him straight in the eyes. "If you hurt Skye in any way, I will not hesitate to make you suffer for it. Because of my work, I have access to countless chemicals and other such things that I'm sure I could get creative with in using on you in retaliation. Skye probably wouldn't approve, but she doesn't have to know."

Grant swallows thickly. "I would never dream of hurting Skye."

Jemma nods. "That's good. But my…incentive still stands. You hurt her, I hurt you. Got it?" Grant nods, swallowing again. Jemma smiles. "Good."

"Okay, I'm back. Is it my turn yet?"

Grant turns his head to see Skye approaching their lane. He shakes his head. "No, not yet. Jemma still has to take her second go."

Skye sits down in the chair next to him and looks over at her friend. "I thought you would have finished your turn completely by now."

"We were…talking," Grant tells her, draping an arm across the back of her chair. "Getting to know each other a little bit."

Skye nods. "Ah, I see. Well can you hurry up and finish your turn?" she asks her friend. "I'm just itching to get back up there."

"Yes, yes, alright," Jemma says. She moves back over to the ball conveyor and picks up one of the bowling balls, carrying it over to the lane.

"So what were you two talking about?" Skye asks her boyfriend as she leans back in her seat, taking one of the chips out of his basket of nachos.

"Jemma was just apologizing to me," he replies.

"She really did that?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm."

"So then things are all good between you two? I don't have to worry about anything?"

Grant shakes his head and smiles. "No, you don't have to worry. I think things are going to be pretty okay from now on."

Skye smiles and leans forward to press her lips to his. "I'm very glad to hear it."

.

.

.

"Well, tonight was definitely a success," Skye says with a smile as she and Grant make their way towards her car out in the parking lot.

Grant nods. "I would definitely have to agree with you on that one. It went better than I thought it would. I'm also really glad you and Jemma made up."

"So am I," Skye says. "I don't like being in fights with my friends."

"It definitely doesn't sound like it'd be any fun. Then again, I wouldn't really know because pretty much all of my friends are in Hydra and if you're on the outs with one of them there's not much luck in reconciling and you better sleep with one eye open."

"That sounds rough," Skye says.

Grant shrugs. "That's just how it is."

"Well I'm sorry you have to be a part of that."

"I'm used to it," he tells her. "Grew up around it. None of it really fazes me. And no one comes after me in my sleep anyways. They all know better than to do that."

Skye nods. "Right. So, do you want to come over for a bit and hang out or do you have to get back before anyone notices you're gone?"

"No, I can probably hang out for a little while."

Skye smiles. "Great." She leans down and unlocks her door, pulls it open, and climbs inside.

Grant pulls open the passenger side door and climbs inside, shutting the door and buckling his seatbelt.

"Grant?" Skye asks as she starts the car and pulls out of the parking space.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I've been a little curious about."

"What is it?" he asks.

"How come you don't drive?" she asks him.

He furrows his brows. "What?"

"You don't drive," she states. "How come? Can you not drive or something?"

He shakes his head. "No, I can drive. I just…don't."

"Well why not?"

He shrugs. "Don't really have much of a reason to. Everywhere I go in town is within walking distance. And if it's not I can always take the bus to get around. And now I have you to drive me around. But don't worry, I won't be calling you late at night just to drive me somewhere. I wouldn't do that to you. I know how you like your sleep."

"Good. Because I'd be really mad if you did that."

He smiles. "I'm sure I'd get quite an earful."

"Do you have a license?" she asks him when they get to a stoplight.

"Yeah."

"Let me see it," she says with a smile, holding out her hand.

"Skye..."

"Come on."

Grant sighs. "Alright. Just so you'll stop bugging me." He lifts up out of the seat and pulls out his wallet, opening it up and pulling out a small laminated card. He holds it out to Skye.

Skye takes the card and holds it in her hand, looking down at it and smiling. "Oh my goodness. You look so cute. When was this taken?"

"I think I was twenty one, maybe, when I got my license renewed. I didn't actually take the drivers ed class, just read the handbook then took the test and got my permit. You're not actually allowed to do that, but of course since I'm Hydra they let me do it. Then when that time was up I went in and got my license. Light's green."

"Oh, crap." Skye tosses the plastic card into his lap and focuses back on the road as she presses on the gas. "You didn't take drivers ed?"

He shakes his head as he slides his license back into his wallet. "No, I didn't."

"Wow. My parents basically forced me to take drivers ed when I was sixteen. I'm pretty sure it's because they were sick of driving me everywhere my entire life."

Grant chuckles. "I'm sure they just wanted you to get some independence," he tells her.

"Yeah, well, my parents are weird. Glad I got my license, though, made life a whole lot easier in LA when I was able to drive myself places. Although, LA traffic always sucks, but it was still nice to be able to drive myself around."

He looks at her and smiles. "And now you get to drive me around."

Skye glances at him and gives him a small smile. "I'm more than happy to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Who liked Jemma's little threat to Grant there? I thought that was fun. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Halloween :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya.
> 
> Also, who's seen the show Raising Hope? I just finished bingewatching it yesterday and I'm obsessed. I really wish they didn't cancel it because it was really good. I want more of it. :( Oh well.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

"Wanna come over tonight and celebrate with me?" Skye asks into the receiver of her cell phone as soon as Grant picks up on the other end, before he can even get a word out.

 _"Good morning to you, too,"_ Grant replies.

Skye sighs. "Good morning. Did I wake you?"

_"No. I was already up."_

"Great. So do you want to come over tonight and celebrate?"

" _Celebrate what?"_ Grant asks.

"Halloween," Skye tells him. "Duh."

" _Oh, that's right. Today's Halloween."_

Skye furrows her brows. "Hang on, why do you sound not happy about the idea of celebrating Halloween? Halloween is freaking awesome. One of the best holidays there is."

" _I'm sure it is. But Halloween over here has never really been about dressing up to go out trick-or-treating, and obviously kids don't come here to ask for candy. No parent will let their kid come anywhere near this place, but I can't exactly blame them for that."_

Skye leans back into the couch cushion. "Wait, you really never went trick-or-treating as a kid?"

" _Nope. Gramsy was always really good about taking care of me and my younger brother, but somehow we never managed to make it out trick-or-treating on Halloween. I think my dad may have had something to do with it at the time."_

Skye frowns. "That's so sad. Every kid should have the experience of going trick-or-treating."

" _And you're amazing for feeling that way, you really are."_

"Well since you didn't get to have a good Halloween as a kid you're going to come over to my place tonight and we're going to have a _great_ Halloween."

" _Skye, I don't know if you've noticed this, but I'm a little too old to be going out trick-or-treating. Also, I don't think anyone would open their doors to me, and parents would probably pull their kids in the opposite direction when they saw me."_

"I know that. I didn't mean we'd go out trick-or-treating. What I meant is that we'd stay in, watch some classic Halloween movies, and hand out candy to the kids that come to the door."

" _Really?"_

Skye nods her head. "Yeah. Grant, will you come over and celebrate Halloween with me?"

Grant laughs quietly. _"Yes, Skye, I will."_

Skye smiles wide. "Awesome. This is going to be so much fun."

" _It better be."_

"I promise it will be. I know how to have a good time."

_"Alright. What time do you want me to come over?"_

"Um, does six work for you?" she asks.

_"Six is fine. I'll see you then."_

She smiles into the phone. "Awesome. Bye."

_"Bye."_

Pulling the phone down away from her ear, Skye hits the end call button and sets her phone down next to her on the couch.

Looking up, she lets out a breath and then stands from her couch, making her way into the kitchen for breakfast.

* * *

Stepping up to the front of Skye's apartment, Grant takes a deep breath and adjusts his jacket, then lifts his fist to knock on the door.

"Coming!"

A second later the door is pulled open to reveal Skye standing on the other side, a bowl of candy resting in the crook of her arm.

"Hey," she says to him with a small smile.

"Hey," he says back. "What's with the bowl of candy?" he asks, gesturing to the bowl.

"Precaution in case you were a trick-or-treater," she tells him, moving back into her apartment.

Grant nods in understanding. "Ah." He steps up into her apartment, pulling the door closed behind him.

He toes his shoes off just inside the door and shrugs his jacket off, hanging it up on the coat rack.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asks Skye when he sees her going down the hall towards her bedroom.

Skye looks over her shoulder at him. "Be patient. Make yourself comfortable on the couch. I'll be done in just a few minutes."

Grant sighs and sits down on the couch, relaxing into it. "So we just sit out here and watch movies while waiting for kids to come to the door asking for candy?" he asks after a minute.

"Pretty much," Skye calls back from her bedroom.

"And how long does this whole thing usually take?"

"Depends on how long parents let their kids stay out. But usually it's only for a few hours."

Grant nods. "Okay, good. And do we just—what are you wearing?" Grant's brows knit together when he sees Skye emerge from the hallway leading to her bedroom. She's wearing a simple pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, a red hooded cape tied around her neck with the hood up on her head.

"I'm Little Red Riding Hood," she tells him. "You like?" she asks with a smile.

"Kind of," he replies. "But what's the point with it?" he asks. "Aren't we just handing out candy to kids?"

Skye nods as she sits down next to him. "Yes, we are. But half the fun of handing out candy on Halloween is dressing up."

"Well, I didn't bring any kind of costume because I didn't know that I needed to, so it looks like you're going to be the only one dressing up tonight."

Skye smiles at him. "See, I kind of had a feeling you wouldn't think to bring a costume. So it's a good thing I prepared for this very situation."

Grant sighs. "Where is it?"

"In my room on the bed."

Grant stands up from the couch and moves down the hallway towards Skye's bedroom.

Skye leans back in the couch and grabs the remote control from the coffee table, clicking it on and going straight to the OnDemand movies section.

"Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween," Skye sings under her breath as she scrolls through the list, looking for a good Halloween movie.

"Do I really have to wear this?"

Skye looks up from the TV and smiles when she sees Grant dressed in his costume; a grey pullover hoodie and furry wolf ears on a headband.

"Yes you do," she tells him with a curt nod. "You're the Big Bad Wolf to my Little Red Riding Hood tonight. But you still need some more wolf features on your face, so get over here." She gestures for him to join her on the couch.

Grant sighs and moves over to the couch, sitting down next to Skye and turning slightly to face her.

Skye reaches over to grab her make-up bag off of the coffee table, setting it in her lap and unzipping it, digging through it to find what she needs.

"Wait, are you seriously going to put make-up on me?" he asks. "Because I really don't think that I—"

"Relax, it's just for a couple of hours," she interrupts him, uncapping her black eyeliner. "Then you can wash it off and feel like a man again." She leans forward and begins coloring the tip of his nose.

Grant huffs. "Fine. But I'm only doing this because I really like you."

She smiles. "That's very good to know for future reference."

Grant groans. "I completely walked myself into that one."

Skye laughs quietly. "Yes you did." She puts a few dots on each of his cheeks before leaning back to check her work. "Almost done," she tells him. "Figured I'd keep it pretty simple for you since you don't seem to be too big of a fan of having make up on your face."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

She leans forward again and draws some more on his forehead, increasing his hairline to a point and coloring it in.

Leaning back, she smiles as she recaps the eyeliner and puts it back in her bag. "There. That should be good enough for the kids who come to the door."

"You think so?" he asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. I don't think they'll pay much attention to it, anyways. Most kids just come for the candy and then leave."

"Seems like they just know what it is that they want," he says.

Skye shrugs. "Maybe so." She takes a deep breath, setting her makeup bag back on the coffee table. "Now then, what should we watch tonight? _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ is always a good choice, a true classic. Or there's the Disney movie _Halloweentown_ , also somewhat of a classic. Both of those are two of my favorites. Or we could just pick a random scary Halloween movie. What would you prefer?"

Grant shrugs. "I don't know. Whatever you want is fine."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

He nods. "I'm sure."

"Alright. _The_ _Nightmare Before Christmas_ it is, then." She picks up the remote control and quickly finds the movie. "Fair warning, I will be singing along with every song in this movie."

He nods once. "Duly noted."

Skye just smiles and leans up to press a kiss to his cheek before settling into his side as she lifts the remote and presses play.

.

.

.

A knock at the door pulls Skye's attention away from the television screen. She smiles over at Grant after pausing the movie. "Looks like we have our first trick-or-treaters. Come on." She lightly pats his leg and stands up from the couch, moving towards the door as she picks up the bowl of candy from the coffee table. Grant follows close behind her.

Pulling the door open, Skye smiles at the small group of kids standing on her porch.

"Trick or treat!" all of the kids chorus together.

"Aww, you all look so cute." She reaches into the bowl of candy and grabs a handful, dropping a few pieces into each of the kids' bags. "Grant, look how cute they are," Skye says, looking over her shoulder.

"Great costumes," Grant says to the kids with a slight nod of his head.

"Thank you, mister," the little girl dressed as a princess says. She looks at Skye. "Thank you for the candy."

"You are very welcome, sweetie," Skye says back. "Happy Halloween."

"Happy Halloween," a couple of the kids say back as they all make their way down the sidewalk towards their parents.

Skye smiles as she watches the children walk away and then closes the door, turning around to face Grant. "See, it's not so bad."

Grant shrugs. "I guess so."

Another knock sounds at the door and Skye smiles. "Now it's your turn." She shoves the bowl of candy into his chest.

Grant's eyes go wide as he holds onto the bowl. "What? But I—"

"Relax," Skye tells him. "Open the door and give the kid some candy."

Grant sighs and steps past Skye to the door, pulling it open to reveal a young boy on the porch.

"Trick or treat!" he shouts with wide smile.

"Hey," Grant says with a slightly nervous smile. "Happy Halloween." He reaches into the bowl and grabs a few pieces of candy, dropping them into the kids' bucket. "Nice costume," he says to the boy.

"You too," the little boy dressed as a pirate says with a smile. "Are you the Big Bad Wolf?" he asks.

Grant nods. "I am. And I'm guessing you're a pirate?"

The boy nods excitedly. "Yeah. Pirates are the best. Do you like pirates?"

"Don't know," Grant says. "Never met any before."

The boy giggles. "You're funny. I like you. Happy Halloween!" he exclaims happily before turning around and hopping down the steps.

Grant watches the boy go for a moment before he closes the door and turns around to find Skye smiling at him, her arms crossed casually over her chest.

"What?" he asks, setting the bowl of candy down on the floor just inside the door.

Skye shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Good. Now come on, let's get back to the movie." He grabs Skye's hand and drags her back over to the couch, pulling her down with him. "It's just barely started and I want to see what's going to happen next. Not because I like it or anything," he says. "Just because I'm curious."

Skye smiles knowingly. "Uh-huh. I'm sure that's all it is."

"It is," he insists. "Can we get back to the movie please?"

"Fine, fine." Skye leans forward and grabs the remote, pressing play before leaning back into Grant's side.

Grant wraps his arm around Skye's shoulder and holds her close, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before settling back into the couch, his attention focusing on the movie playing out in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> The next chapter is gonna be a good one. I think you'll like it. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye finally meets the other two Ward's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! This is definitely an interesting one, things get a little shaken up.
> 
> Also, who's excited for Brett's movie "The Resurrection of Gavin Stone" to come out this weekend? Hopefully I'll be able to go see it, it's not showing at any of the theaters close by where I live, so I may have to go out a ways. But I'm still determined to go see it.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

"Aw, come on, man," Skye says towards the TV in front of her, leaning forward slightly in her seat. "That was a totally and completely legal move. You, mister referee, are a complete and utter idiot. That was such a lousy call and everyone watching this game knows it. You're way too biased for this; you should not be a referee at all."

A loud banging on her apartment door pulls Skye's attention away from the television set. She looks towards the door with furrowed brows.

Reaching out, she sets her beer bottle down on the coffee table, lowers the volume on the TV, and then stands up from the couch.

Moving towards the front door, she unlocks the top lock and leans sideways against the door.

"Who is it?" she asks through the wood.

"It's Grant."

Quickly pulling the door open, Skye gasps when she sees Grant standing on the other side, one arm wrapped loosely around his torso, his face covered in a few cuts and the beginnings of bruises.

"Grant? Oh my goodness. What happened to you? You look awful."

"You should see the other guy," he jokes with a small laugh. He winces immediately after and then looks up at Skye. "So can I come in? Or are you just going to leave me standing out here?"

Skye pulls herself from her thoughts and shakes her head slightly. "Right, sorry. Yeah, come on in." She moves back to allow him to step into her apartment.

Grant steps across the threshold, moving into the living room as Skye closes the door and locks it again.

"Have a seat on the couch," Skye tells him. "I'll be right back."

Grant nods his head and slowly lowers himself down onto the couch while Skye disappears into another part of the apartment.

A minute later she reappears in the living room carrying a first aid kit and bag of cotton balls in her hands.

She sits down on the edge of the coffee table, directly in front of Grant, and sets the kit down next to her, flipping open the lid and digging through it.

"Why didn't you go to a hospital?" she asks him as she pulls different items out of the kit. "They could definitely do a lot better than I can with all of these cuts."

Grant gives her a look. "Really? Are you forgetting who I am, Skye? Those rent-a-cops would probably try to arrest or shoot me on site just for the hell of it."

Skye nods. "Right, of course." She grabs a cotton ball out of the bag and quickly pours some rubbing alcohol onto it.

"So who did this to you?" Skye asks her boyfriend as she leans forward and dabs at the cuts on his face.

"Skye, it's fine," Grant tells her.

She gives him a look. "Like hell it is. Now tell me who did this to you."

Grant sighs. "Joey."

Skye stills. She leans back and raises an eyebrow. "Your _brother_ did this to you? He's the one who beat the crap out of you tonight?"

"He didn't beat the crap out of me, Skye. I got a few good punches in there too."

"Why were you two even punching each other in the first place?" Skye asks him.

Grant shakes his head. "Nothing. It's stupid."

"Grant."

He sighs. "He found out that I'm seeing you, and that I skipped out on his plans of messing with people on Halloween like every year to come hang out with you. Accused me of betraying Hydra's name or something else equally as ridiculous."

Skye's eyes go wide. "He seriously beat you up because we're dating and that you came to hang out with me on Halloween?"

"He may have been a little drunk at the time, too, which is not all that unusual for him."

"That's horrible, Grant."

Grant shrugs. "That's Joey."

"I want to meet him," she states.

"What?" Grant shakes his head vehemently and shifts on the couch. "Skye, no, please. I really don't want you to meet him. He's not the greatest guy, far from it. I'm sure he'll do whatever he can to make you feel completely uncomfortable when you're in the same room as him. Or he'll try to pull something, try to get inside your head. That's what he does. That's how he gets people to join Hydra. That or rough them up a little until they agree."

Skye leans towards him. "I can handle myself just fine, babe." She smiles at him and places a hand on the side of his face. "Besides, you'll be right there with me. My very handsome knight in brown leather."

Grant chuckles and nods. "Yes, I am that. And did you just call me 'babe'?" he asks with a knowing smile.

Skye's eyes go wide for a split second. "What? No."

His smile softens. "It's okay. I kind of like it."

"You do?" she asks.

He nods. "Mm-hmm. It's nice."

"Well I'm glad you think so." She sits up straight and takes a deep breath. "So, since you're here, after I finish cleaning you up, do you want to do something?"

"I think that might depend on what exactly you have in mind," he says with a small smile.

"Well we can finish watching the game that's on right now," she tells him. "I think it's almost over and it's getting pretty intense."

"What sport?" he asks.

"Soccer," she tells him. "I'm kind of a little obsessed and can get very intense when watching a game. You can blame my dad for that, though. He's a pretty big soccer fan so I grew up watching the sport. Played it when I was younger for a little while but I stunk, so that was over pretty quick. Still love it though."

"Well I'm a pretty big soccer fan too," he tells her.

"Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. Been to a few different games over the years."

"That's awesome. I went to a few back in LA with my dad. So do you want to finish watching the game? Then maybe we can watch a movie or something."

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah, that'd be great."

Skye smiles. "Awesome. But first, I need to finish taking care of this hot mess." She gestures to his face.

"That would be very much appreciated."

Skye smiles again and leans forward to continue lightly dabbing at Grant's cuts.

* * *

"Are you really sure that you want to do this?" Grant asks Skye as they sit in her car on the street right outside the large building housing all of Hydra. "Because you know you don't have to. We can turn around and go right back to your place and do something else."

Skye shakes her head. "No, I want to meet your brother, Grant. Besides, I've never been to your place before."

"That's because I don't want you to see how I live. It's honestly not that much. Kind of a creepy place to live, if you ask me."

"Then why do you still live there?" she asks him. "Or why don't you guys just fix it up? What else do you do with all the money you're always getting?"

Grant shakes his head. "I really don't think you want to know that. Some things are just better left to the imagination."

Skye stares at him for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I guess I'll take your word for it."

"Good, thank you." He takes a deep breath. "So, are you ready to go inside?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, I think so. Let's do this."

"Okay. But just to warn you before we go in, some of these guys can be a little...intense. You already saw a bit of that when Kebo tried to mess with you."

She smiles. "Well just keep him away from me and I think we'll be perfectly okay."

Grant smiles back. "I think I can definitely do that."

"Great. Now come on." She pushes open the passenger side door and steps out of the car, closing the door behind her.

Grant sighs and opens his own door, stepping out of the car and making sure to close and lock the car behind him.

"Here goes nothing," he says quietly to himself as he makes his way towards Skye.

"What was that?" she asks him curiously.

He shakes his head. "Nothing." He reaches down to grab her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "Just not completely convinced that this is actually a good idea."

Skye turns fully to face him. "Everything will be fine, Grant. You need to stop worrying so much."

"I'm sorry. I can't help it. You mean a lot to me and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know." She smiles and reaches up to place a hand gently on his cheek. "And I think it's very sweet. But I'm a big girl. I can handle myself just fine, okay?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, okay."

"Grant! You're back!"

Grant turns his head away from Skye to see Andrew quickly making his way down the sidewalk towards him.

"Hey, man. What's up?"

"Not much," Andrew tells him with a small shrug. "Just getting a little tired of being around Joey without you there to be a buffer between us as per usual." Andrew's attention shifts to Skye. He smiles brightly at her. "I'd recognize you anywhere. You're Grant's girl."

"I'm Skye," she tells him. "You must be Grant's brother."

"Younger brother," Andrew clarifies. "Name's Andrew."

"Well it's nice to meet you Andrew," Skye says to him with a smile.

"You too," Andrew says back. "When Grant told me he was bringing you by I thought he must have hit his head too hard or something. I thought he'd have to be completely out of his mind to want to bring you here."

"For the record," Grant says. "I spoke out very vocally against this multiple times. But Skye wants to meet Joey."

Andrew's face falls. "Wait. You actually _want_ to meet Joey?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, I do."

Andrew breathes out. "Wow. You picked a bad day to come over, then."

"Is Joey in a mood?" Grant asks his brother.

Andrew snorts. "When isn't he in a mood?"

Grant nods. "True. But is it bad today?"

"Oh yeah," Andrew says with a small nod. "You might want to come back at a later date when he isn't—"

"Grant! Andrew! What the hell are you two doing out here?"

Andrew sighs. "When he isn't standing right on the porch and probably making his way over at this very moment."

"Are either of you two going to answer me?" The eldest of the three brothers asks when he reaches them on the end of the sidewalk. "Or are you just going to stand there like idiots?"

"We were just talking," Andrew tells him.

"About what?" Joey asks.

Andrew shrugs. "Not a lot."

"Oh," Joey says. He's about to say something else when his eyes fall on Skye. A sly grin spreads on his face. "And who is this incredibly beautiful specimen? I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting."

"Actually we have met before," Skye tells him. "Very briefly. And I wouldn't call it pleasant. The exact opposite, actually."

Joey chuckles. "She's got some bite to her. I like that. Where on earth did you find her, Grant?" Joey turns to his brother. "You _must_ tell me your secret so I can find myself a nice little piece like her to have on hand whenever I'm bored or lonely, or just looking for a good time."

Grant's jaw tightens and he takes a small step forward. "Cut it out, Joey."

"Or what?" Joey asks. "Are you going to try and beat me up again? We both know you've never been able to."

"There's always a first time for everything."

"And how are you possibly going to beat me?" Joey asks.

"Keep talking about Skye like you just were and you'll find out," Grant says.

Skye reaches a hand up to his arm. "Grant," she says gently. Grant turns his head to look at her. "It's not worth it," she tells him. "Let's just go inside, okay?"

He turns fully to look at her. "You still want to be here? Because we can still leave, just say the word."

She shakes her head. "I want to stay for a little while."

Grant sighs. "Alright." He turns back around to see only Andrew standing in front of him. He furrows his brows. "Where'd Joey go?"

"Back inside. He didn't say why. But my best guess is that he got bored out here."

"Figures," Grant says. He looks at Skye. "You ready to go inside?"

She nods. "Yeah."

He breathes out, "Okay. Come on, then." He holds tightly to her hand and gently tugs her along beside him as they make their way up to the front of the building, Andrew walking in front of them.

"Yo!" Andrew shouts when they step inside the front door. "Who left their helmet lying inside the front door? Can the owner of said helmet come over here and pick it up? Someone could trip over that thing."

Nobody in any of the nearby rooms moves.

Grant sighs, letting go of Skye's hand and taking a step forward.

"Somebody, I don't really care who, better come pick up this damn helmet before _I_ pick it up and hit each of you over the head with it. Repeatedly. Until you bleed, perhaps."

A few seconds later a loud scraping is heard on the hardwood floor, and then a young man with dirty blonde hair and a small scar above his left eye is moving slowly towards them.

"Sorry about that," he says, inching towards the helmet. "I uh, I guess I must have forgotten about that." He avoids eye contact with Grant the whole time. He bends down to pick up the helmet, quickly standing up straight again.

"Well don't make a habit of it," Grant says to him. "Now get out of here."

The other man nods before turning around and quickly scurrying out of the room.

Grant turns to look at Skye. "I'm uh, I'm sorry you had to see that," he tells her.

"It's fine," she assures him. She lets a small smile sneak onto her face. "Just don't make a habit of it."

Grant smiles back. "I'll do my best. Now come on, let me show you my room."

Skye smiles and wiggles her eyebrows. "Your room? Ooh. Are your parents home? Better keep the door open."

Grant laughs. "Don't worry. Nobody ever comes near or enters my room without my express permission."

"Good to know," Skye says. "So let's see this bedroom of yours."

Grant smiles and leads her down the long hallway of the building towards the back where his room is.

Grant lets out a breath when they reach his bedroom. "This is it," he tells her, pushing the door open. "Home sweet home."

Skye lets go of Grant's hand and steps foot inside his bedroom, slowly making her way inside and taking it all in.

"Not much in here," she comments as she looks all around the room.

Grant shrugs, closing his bedroom door. "Never really accumulated much stuff over the years. Didn't see the point in it."

"That's too bad," Skye says. "Everybody should have stuff."

"I have books," he tells her, gesturing to a small shelf hanging on the wall near his bed.

Skye nods. "Yes, I see that. So I take it you like to read?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, I guess so. I don't read a whole lot, but I try to whenever I get the chance."

"What do you like to read?" she asks.

"Classics," he answers. "I like the really old stuff, the good stuff. None of the crap that they're rolling out now. Except _Harry Potter_ , I guess."

Skye grins. "I knew you'd like it." She moves across the room and sits down on the edge of his bed, leaning back on her hands. She takes a deep breath. "So, I'm guessing that you've never had a girl in here before."

"No, I haven't. Most girls I've...been with never seemed too keen on coming over here."

Skye nods. "Right. So, how would you like to make out with a hot girl on your bed?" She smiles cheekily at him.

Grant smiles back, making his way towards her. He leans down over here, resting his hands on the bed. He ghosts his lips over hers. "I'd like that very much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Now Skye has met Andrew and Joey, and she's seen where Grant normally lives. The next chapter definitely shakes things up a bit.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye have a nice dinner out. Or, they were supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter! Thanks so much for all the love so far with this story. It's greatly appreciated. :)
> 
> This chapter throws a bit of a curve at their relationship, but what happens here was bound to happen eventually. You'll see what I mean.
> 
> Enjoy!

Pulling the car over to the sidewalk, between two other cars, Skye shifts the gear into park and turns the ignition off, pulling the keys out and sliding them into her purse.

Taking the moment while Skye's busy, Grant reaches out to his door and pushes it open so he can step out of the car. Closing his door behind him he straightens his jacket out a little and hurries around the front of the car to the driver's side. He pulls Skye's door open for and holds out a hand to help her out of the vehicle.

Skye takes his hand and smiles as she steps out, closing the door behind her. "Thanks," she says. "That was a very gentlemanly move to make."

Grant smiles and shrugs, lacing their fingers together. "I'm trying."

"Well it's definitely appreciated," she tells him.

He leans down to give her a quick kiss, smiling against her lips. "I'm glad." He stands up straight and then leads her up onto the sidewalk and towards the front of the restaurant.

"So are you excited for our special dinner tonight?" Skye asks Grant after a quiet moment.

Grant nods. "I am. And I think I like the fact that you're the one treating me to dinner."

"Yeah, you better." She laughs quietly. "We haven't been out on a nice dinner date yet so I figure now's as good a time as any to have one. And I don't think I can even tell you how much work it took me to actually get this reservation for us," Skye tells him.

He gives her a soft smile. "Well I'm definitely looking forward to it."

"So am I," she tells him with a smile of her own. "For a little while I thought about making this another double-date thing with Fitz and Jemma, but then I decided that I really wanted a night out for just the two of us. Plus, I think a dinner in a romantic setting like this might have caused Fitz and Jemma to self destruct somehow." She lets out a small laugh.

Grant laughs as well and nods. "Yes, that probably would have been a little weird for them considering they aren't even together."

"But they totally should be," she tells him. "You have to admit that they would look pretty great together. And they already spend practically every waking moment together as is. So it's not like it'd be that much of a stretch for them to start dating. There'd just be more hand holding and kissing."

Grant nods and stops walking, turning to face her in front of the restaurant doors. "Maybe, but don't go around meddling, okay? If they do decide to get together, let it happen on its own time. You don't want to push them into something they might not be ready for yet."

Skye sighs. "Fine, I promise I won't meddle."

He nods once. "Good." He takes a deep breath and stands up a little straighter, looking up at the sign for the restaurant. "You know, I think I may have heard of this restaurant before, but I've never actually been here."

"Really?"

He nods his head and looks back at her. "Yeah. I don't know if you know this, Skye, but I'm not exactly the kind of person they'd like to have in here on a regular basis."

"Well, if they don't want to serve you here, then they'll have me to deal with."

Grant smiles down at her. "Is this you saying you're going to become my knight now?"

Skye smiles and nods. "Mm-hmm. Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"

Grant chuckles and shakes his head. "No, I suppose not. But you know that we'll probably have to get you a brown leather jacket, right?"

Skye shakes her head. "Uh-uh, nope. The whole 'knight in brown leather' thing is all you, babe."

"No complaining here," he says with a smile as he leans down to press a quick kiss to her lips.

Standing back up straight, he reaches out and grabs hold of one of the door handles, pulling it open and allowing Skye to step inside the fancy, well-lit restaurant.

He steps in after her and lets the door close behind them, taking her hand in his again as they make their way up to the host's podium, stopping just in front of it.

"Hello," Skye says to the man behind it with a smile. "Dinner reservation for two under Coulson."

The host looks up at her, the smile falling from his face for a quick moment before he plasters on a fake one.

"Uh, yes. One moment, please." The man looks down at the screen on his podium for a quick second before looking back up at the couple. "I'm afraid we don't have a Coulson on reservation here tonight. Maybe you scheduled it for a different night."

Skye shakes her head. "No, I'm positive I had the reservation set for tonight. Are you sure it isn't there?" she asks him. "Can you just check again? I made that reservation two weeks ago and I'd hate to miss it because it takes forever to get one here."

The man sighs before taking a too-quick look back down at the screen. He looks back up at them. "I'm sorry, there's nothing here."

"What do you mean there's nothing there?" Grant asks the man behind the podium. He gestures to Skye. "My girlfriend went through a lot of effort to get us a reservation here."

"There was a mix up in the system," the host says. "I'm afraid it happens all the time."

Grant's jaw hardens. "Well maybe you should get that looked at and fixed so it doesn't happen again."

The man nods. "O-of course."

Skye steps forward and places a hand on Grant's arms. "Grant, it's okay, really. We can just go somewhere else."

"I can offer you a spot at this really nice place just down the road," the host says. "A good friend of mine works there and I'm sure he'll have something available for you."

"But my girlfriend called for a table here," Grant tells him.

"I'm sorry," the host says.

"Grant, seriously. Come on." Skye tugs slightly on his jacket sleeve, trying to get him to move.

Grant shrugs her hand off of him and looks down at her. "Hang on a minute. I just want to have a quick word with this guy." He looks back at the host. "Come here." He takes a few steps off to the side and gestures for the host to come closer. The man hesitantly steps over to him. Grant reaches up and wraps his hand loosely around the base of the man's head, pulling it down slightly. He lowers his own head and speaks in a quiet voice, "Do you know who I am?" The host nods his head. "Good. Then unless you want your family and friends to discover your _extremely_ unidentifiable body in the nearest supply of water large enough, then you're going to get back on your tablet over there, move some stuff around, and get us the table that my girlfriend worked very hard to reserve for us." He pauses. "Do you need me to repeat any of that for you?"

The man shakes his head quickly.

Grant stands up straight and pats the man on the back of the neck as he lifts his head. "Great. I'm glad we understand one another." Grant steps away from the man and moves back over to Skye while the host steps back behind the podium, tapping on the tablet with shaky hands.

"Grant," Skye says. "What's going on? What just happened?"

"Relax, it's fine," he tells her.

"Apparently," the host speaks up, catching Skye's attention, "the system seems to have now reset itself. We do have your reservation here, after all. One of our nicest tables, to be exact."

"Thank you," Grant says to the man, nodding once at him.

"Hey," Skye says, placing a hand on Grant's arm.

He turns his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"What did you say to him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the guy said he didn't have our reservation, you pull him off to the side to talk to him, and when he goes back to the podium he says our reservation magically reappeared. What did you say to him?"

Grant gives her a small smile. "Oh, I just made sure that he had the _proper_ motivation."

Skye shifts on her feet and raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms in front of her. "Did you threaten him?"

Grant shrugs. "Maybe. But at least we got our table."

Skye scoffs. "Unbelievable." She looks past Grant at the host. "Thank you very much, but we won't actually be needing that reservation tonight after all. I'm sorry." She turns around and makes her way to the front door.

"Skye, wait!" Grant calls after her, quickly following after her as she makes her way outside. He reaches out and grabs her arm, spinning her around to face him. "Wait, please. What happened back there?"

"You, Grant. _You_ happened."

He furrows his brows. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"What did I do?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Are you serious right now?" She shifts on her feet and points behind him to the restaurant. "You just threatened a guy so he'd get us a table, Grant!"

"You said it took you a lot of work to get that reservation," he retorts. "I was just making sure we'd get it! Like you wanted!"

"But you _threatened_ him, Grant! You didn't have to do that. You can't just go around threatening people all the time to get what you want. That isn't right. We could just as easily have gone somewhere else for dinner."

He gestures behind him at the restaurant. "But that's the place you wanted to eat at. That's where you made our reservation."

"And I would have been perfectly fine eating somewhere else as long as you were there with me. But you just had to go all Hydra crazy on that nice guy in there who's just trying to make a living. So now this night is over." She turns around and begins walking away from him.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Grant calls after her retreating form.

Skye stops and turns back to him. "I mean we aren't going out to dinner tonight. Tonight was supposed to be a nice night out for the two of us to enjoy a nice meal together and get to know each other a little more. But you ruined that, Grant. So I'm going to go home now and you're going to go and do whatever the hell you want. Go terrorize more people; I really don't care what you do. Goodnight, Grant." She turns around and continues to walk away towards her car.

"Skye!" Grant calls after her. "Wait! Skye!" He lets out a frustrated groan and turns to throw a kick at the closest lamp post. "Damn it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Alright, so Grant and Skye had their first big argument. It was bound to happen though, right? Right.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant hopes to make things up to Skye after their botched date night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! New chapter for ya. This one's pretty exciting, you'll see why. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Taking a deep breath as he makes his way up the sidewalk, Grant stops when he reaches the front of Skye's apartment, right in front of the door. He takes a moment to adjust his t-shirt and jacket a bit, hoping he looks okay. He then lifts his fist to the door and wraps on it a couple of times, rocking back on his heels and shoving one hand into his pants pocket as he waits for Skye to open the door.

"One second!" he hears from the other side.

A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Skye, dressed in a simple pair of yoga pants and loose sweatshirt, her hair pulled up into a bun on top of her head. He watches as her face hardens when she sees him. "Go away," she tells him harshly before slamming the door in his face.

He lets out a sigh and closes his eyes, lowering his head. "Skye, please let me inside."

"No."

Grant shifts on his feet, leaning against the wall next to her door. He leans his head back to rest against the wall. "Skye, come on. Please just let me in."

"No. You completely ruined what was supposed to be a romantic night out for us, Grant. And you didn't even realize what you did. Why should I let you inside?"

He leans his forehead against the wall and closes his eyes. "Because I'm sorry. I screwed up big time, okay? I know that now. I've had a few relationships before, but none have ever lasted, and none of them were very healthy relationships. And obviously my family relationships weren't the greatest either. So I don't have much to go on for how this is supposed to work and how I'm supposed to act. I'm still trying to find my footing in this whole thing, so the other night when that guy said he didn't have the reservation you made, I just snapped. I reacted how I normally would have in that type of situation, and I'm really, truly sorry about that."

The door opens and he looks up to see Skye standing on the other side. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and leans sideways against the door, just watching him.

"Well you could have thought about it first and reacted a whole lot differently than you did," she says after a quiet moment. "Or just not reacted at all and let it go."

Grant sighs. "I realize that, I really do." He stands up straight and looks directly at her. "And I'm so completely sorry. I feel bad. I wish I could go back and change what happened at the restaurant. But I can't."

"Well, you're not completely at fault in this," she tells him. "I may have overreacted a little," she mumbles. She looks up at him and sighs. "I just really wanted that night to be perfect, Grant."

He nods. "I know you did. And I'm really sorry for ruining that. But I do want to try and make it up to you if you'll let me." He holds up a brown paper bag. "I even brought over some wine."

Skye purses her lips in thought. "Fine. Come in." She pushes off of the door and moves into the living room, allowing him to step into the apartment.

"Thank you," he breathes out, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"Don't thank me yet," she says to him. "I still don't know if I'm going to forgive you for what you did at the restaurant."

"Can I at least try and make it up to you first?" he asks.

"And how do you expect to do that?" she asks him.

"Well, dinner, for a start," he tells her.

Skye raises an eyebrow. "You can cook?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, I've been able to for as long as I can remember."

"Why am I just now finding out about this?"

Grant just shrugs.

Skye sighs and sits down on her couch. "Alright, go ahead and try to impress me. Everything you might possibly need is in the kitchen, and I just went grocery shopping so there's actually food in the fridge and cupboards. Go crazy."

Grant smiles. "Prepare to be amazed." He turns around and makes his way into the kitchen, ideas for dinner already flowing through his head.

.

.

.

"Alright," Grant says, stepping foot into the dining room a little while later, carrying two plates of food in his hands. "Tonight I have prepared for you some parmesan crusted chicken and cheesy bacon oven chips. Hopefully they turned out okay. I've made this a couple of times already." He sets one plate down in front of Skye and then one at the other end of the table for himself. He sits down in his seat and gives Skye a nervous smile. "So if it turns out completely horrible then I'm going to kick myself."

"Well it looks and smells really good, if that helps any," Skye tells him, already picking up her fork.

"Thanks," he says, picking up his own fork and simply holding it in his hand, waiting for Skye to try the dish in front of her.

"Oh my goodness," Skye says after a few bites of her meal, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "This is really good. I didn't know you could cook like this, let alone cook in general."

"Nobody does," he tells her.

"Wait, seriously?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. Cooking like this is not something that's particularly thought highly of in Hydra."

"Well that's definitely a shame," Skye tells him. "I seriously might have to consider forgiving you and keeping you around longer if you can cook like this."

Grant smiles and ducks his head. He looks back up at her. "I would not be opposed to that at all."

"I'm sure you wouldn't be." She takes another bite of her food and swallows. "Given how you said it's not highly thought of to cook like this, where on earth did you learn to cook so amazing like this?" she asks him.

Grant swallows his own food. "My grandmother."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. She was such an incredible cook and was always making the most amazing meals growing up. The kitchen always smelled fantastic when she was in it, she loved cooking for me and Andrew. She taught me pretty much everything I know about food and being in the kitchen. She was so much more of a parent to me and Andrew than our own parents ever were."

"Was?" Skye asks.

Grant swallows thickly and nods. "She uh, she passed away when I was seventeen."

Skye reaches across the table to place her hand on top of his. "Grant, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. Gramsy tried her hardest to keep me and Andrew out of Hydra and all that mess as much as she could as we were growing up, but as I got older I slowly started getting more and more involved. Then when she died, I guess something inside of me just snapped. Of course, I did everything I could to keep Andrew from becoming too deeply rooted in Hydra, but I threw myself completely into everything. I think it was sort of a way to cope. That's the moment when I really started to make a name for myself as being completely ruthless and not caring about anyone."

"Obviously you didn't stick very hard to that, though," Skye says. "Because you're right here with me, and you cooked me a nice dinner to try and make up to me."

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah, I guess so. How am I doing with that, by the way?"

Skye purses her lips in thought for a moment before giving him a small smile. "I'll let you know when the night's over. Also, you're definitely coming over for Thanksgiving to cook me a turkey dinner."

Grant laughs quietly and nods. "It's a date."

.

.

.

"Wow. I seriously can't get over how amazing this wine is," Skye says as she swirls the dark liquid around in her wine glass. "I don't think any wine I have after this will even hold a candle to it. This wine has completely ruined all other wines for me."

Grant chuckles quietly. "Well I'm glad you like it. It's some of Hydra's finest," he tells her.

"And now it's less amazing," she remarks, leaning forward to set her wine glass down on the coffee table.

Grant sighs. "I'm sorry. I should have realized."

"It's fine," Skye assures him.

He shakes his head. "No, it isn't. I wanted to use tonight to make up to you after what happened the other night and I just screwed everything up because of the wine I brought you." He sets his glass down on the table and leans forward, resting his arms on his knees and looking down. "I should have known you wouldn't want to drink something affiliated with Hydra. I'm a moron. I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve someone like you."

"Whoa," Skye says, moving forward on the couch. "Hey, whoa, don't say that. Don't ever say something like that."

"But it's true," he insists, sitting up straight and turning his head to look at her. "I don't even know why you still want to be with me after every bad thing you've seen and heard about me." He turns his head away from her again. "I am not a good man, Skye."

She reaches a hand out to his chin and turns his head back towards her. "Yes, you are," she speaks softly with a slight nod of her head, looking him directly in the eyes, hoping she can get her point across to him.

Grant looks at her with soft eyes, completely enamored and taken aback by the amazing woman sitting in front of him. He can't help but let his guard down whenever he's around her. It's moments like these that remind him of that fact.

Before he can stop himself, he leans forward and sears his lips to hers, taking her a little by surprise.

Skye sucks in a sharp breath and stills for a moment at the contact before she reacts to him, deepening the kiss and forcing his lips apart with her tongue.

Grant happily obliges the unspoken request, reaching a hand up to gently cup the back of her neck in his hand, his other hand landing on her waist and squeezing lightly.

Skye pulls herself up off of the couch and moves over so she's straddling Grant's lap, kissing him deeper. She gently pushes on his chest with both of her hands, making him lean back into the couch.

"Skye..." he says breathlessly against her lips.

"Shh," she says back with a slight shake of her head. "No talking."

Grant nods his head and reluctantly pulls away from her lips to leave a trail of hot kisses down the column of her neck.

Skye closes her eyes and tilts her head back, allowing him better access to her beautiful tan skin, her hands reaching up to tangle themselves in his hair. Reaching down, Grant grabs the hem of Skye's t-shirt and slowly lifts it over her head, tossing it to the floor. She watches as Grant's eyes darken when he sees her bra covered chest in front of him.

"Like something you see?" she asks with a small smirk.

Grant doesn't respond with words, simply leans forward to press a single kiss to the valley between her breasts. Skye's breath catches in her throat and she smiles.

"How about we take this back into my room," she suggests. She leans down and nips at his earlobe before whispering. "My bed is way more comfortable and sturdy than this old couch."

Next thing she knows, Grant is standing up from the couch, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist to help hold her up as he carries her through the apartment towards her bedroom.

Skye smiles and runs her hands through Grant's hair again, bending her head down to drop a kiss to the side of his face.

When they reach the bedroom Grant moves them over to the bed and gently lays Skye down on top of the blanket, hovering above her and resting both of his hands on the mattress on either side of her head.

He smiles down at her. "So, does this mean you forgive me for the restaurant thing?"

"Tell you later, promise." She reaches up and grabs his face in both of her hands, tugging him down to capture his lips in hers once again as she uses her ankles locked behind his back to pull him down closer.

.

.

.

"So, that happened last night," Skye says to Grant as they lie together in her bed, Grant curled comfortably around her from behind, one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her close, their legs tangled together beneath the sheets.

"Yeah, it did," he says back. "Do you regret it?"

Skye looks over her shoulder at him and smiles. "No, I don't."

"You don't?"

She shakes her head. "Nope. Not one second of it." She takes a deep breath. "I…I love you, Grant."

Grant's breath hitches in his throat. He lets a smile grace his lips. "I love you, too, Skye." He moves his head to press his lips to hers. "Also," he says when he pulls back, "you were never clear before. This means you forgive me, right?"

Skye just laughs quietly and shakes her head, turning completely in Grant's arms to press a long kiss to his lips. She pushes on his shoulder as she kisses him to get him lying on his back.

She throws a leg over so she's straddling him, running her hands up his bare chest.

She breaks the kiss and smiles down at him. "If last night wasn't answer enough, I hope that was."

Grant smiles up at her, resting his hands on her hips. "I think you might need to tell me once more."

Skye smiles and leans down to kiss him again, letting her hair fall down in front of her face. Grant moans at the feeling before Skye pulls away.

"How was that?" she asks him.

"Better," he says a bit breathlessly. "Definitely better."

"Good, I'm glad."

Things are quiet for a moment as Skye reaches down to his chest and gently traces her fingers over the dark red Hydra tattoo on his skin.

"When did you get this?" she asks him curiously.

"The day I was officially inducted into Hydra," he tells her.

She furrows her brows. "But I thought you grew up in it."

"Well I grew up with its influence all around me and always seeing what they did, and doing little things here and there, but I was never really a part of it until after I got that tattoo."

"Did you have to do something to get it? Like some kind of initiation?"

"I had to kill someone," he whispers.

Skye's hand stills. "Oh."

He reaches up to grab her hand in his. "Hey, it's okay. I didn't actually kill anyone."

She furrows her brows. "You didn't?"

He shakes his head. "No. Even though I did every other thing that they've asked me to do over the years, killing someone is where I drew the line. I couldn't bring myself to kill innocent people, even if they pissed off someone in Hydra. It just didn't feel right."

Skye looks down at their hands and absentmindedly begins playing with his fingers. "What did Hydra do when they found out you didn't kill that person?"

"No one ever found out."

"They didn't?"

He shakes his head again. "Nope. The person I was supposed to kill, I got them out of the city instead, got them a new name and everything. Then I made it look like I killed them and set their body on fire to get rid of any of the evidence. That became my...thing every time I had to kill someone. I'd help them get out of town with a new identity, make it look like I killed them, and then set everything on fire so Hydra wouldn't know any different."

Skye stops and looks up at him. "Wait. So you're saying that all these years you've been in Hydra, you haven't been killing anyone, you've just been helping them escape and making it _look_ like you killed them so Hydra wouldn't be on to you or them?"

Grant nods and sighs. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Wow. I never knew."

"No one does. I just, I couldn't bring myself to do it the first time, and that just bled over into all the rest."

"How old were you the first time?" she asks.

"Eighteen. After Joey and some of the others saw what they thought was a burned corpse, they took me to the local tattoo shop and got me my tattoo. And I've lived with it ever since."

"You know, I have a tattoo also," Skye tells him after a minute.

Grant furrows his brows. "You do?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. But I wouldn't expect you to know what it is or where it is because last night you weren't really all that interested in what was _on_ my body, but rather what you were going to do _to_ my body."

Grant chuckles. "You've got me there. So what and where is your tattoo?"

Skye smiles and sits up a little straighter, pointing to the small tattoo sitting on her pelvic bone; a simple black outline of a tiny elephant.

Grant gently runs the pad of his thumb over the black ink.

"I told you how I've always had a thing for elephants," she tells him. "Especially the baby ones."

Grant lifts his head and presses a single kiss to the spot where her tattoo is before lying back down.

"What was that for?" she asks him with a small smile, reaching out to run a hand through his hair.

He just smiles up at her. "I love you."

Skye feels a blush creep up her cheeks and she ducks her head. She looks back up at him. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know what you think in a review below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> They did the deed. :) And Grant successfully made up to Skye. Things are looking up. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. This isn't actually original chapter that I had written. Somehow, I accidentally deleted the original one, I think I copied a different chapter over top of it or something, so I completely lost the original copy of this chapter. But I was able to rewrite it and keep it relatively similar to how I originally had it. 
> 
> This chapter, in general, was really fun to write. If you saw the chapter summary then I'm sure you can figure out why. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

"I'm hungry," Skye mumbles against Grant's chest as they lie together in her bed, tangled up in the sheets. "I want food."

"Hey, I offered to get up earlier and make you something but you flat out refused."

"You're unnaturally warm," she counters. "I was cold, so I wanted you to stay here."

"And now?"

"Now I'm hungry," she repeats. "I think I might actually die soon if I don't get any food in me."

Grant chuckles. "Well we don't want that. How about I get up and make something super quick and bring it back here for us to eat?"

"I guess that'll work," Skye says.

"Okay. Now what do you want me to make? Toast?"

Skye shakes her head. "Crumbs in the bed. Gross."

Grant smiles. "Alright, then how about I just surprise you with something and bring it back here?"

"Don't take too long," she tells him. "You're really warm and I'm going to get cold very quickly when you leave."

"I promise I'll be as quick as I can," he says, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. He pulls away and throws the covers off of his body, pulling his boxers on before standing from the bed and making his way out of the room.

Shuffling into the kitchen, Grant moves fluidly about the room, digging through the different cupboards and the fridge to find everything he needs to make them some food.

"Grant! Hurry up!"

Grant chuckles and shakes his head. "I just barely got out here, Skye," he calls back through the house. "Be patient."

"I don't want to be patient. I want to eat food."

"Well you're going to have to wait a little bit longer, babe, I'm still figuring out what exactly to make. You really need to go grocery shopping soon."

"Payday's coming up in a few days," she informs him. "I'll go then."

"Good. And don't get a whole bunch of junk food, alright? Get some foods that are _actually_ good for you and not all loaded up with sugars and fats."

"Well if you want to come over every day and cook for me then I'll happily get foods that are healthy and have to be cooked into something."

Grant smiles. "You know I'm more than happy to do that. I'm over here a lot as it is."

"So is this you saying that you're going to be my personal chef?" she asks. "Because if it is, then I'm definitely getting you an apron. And it's going to be a really cheesy one."

"Wouldn't be you if you didn't," he says.

A knock at the front door pulls Grant's attention away from the ingredients in front of him.

"Were you expecting anyone to come by?" he asks her.

"Not that I know of. Will you go see who it is?"

"Yeah, sure." He walks out of the kitchen and over to the front door, pulling it open to see an older man and woman standing on the front porch.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asks, taking a small step forward, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Grant? Babe, who's at the door? Also, you better hurry up with that food because I want your cute butt to join me back in this bed as quickly as possible. Because if you don't think that after we eat I'm not going to continue what we were doing earlier than you're just—" Skye stops short in the hallway when she sees the sight in front of her. "—standing in your underwear in front of my parents." She looks down at her own attire before looking back up, her eyes going slightly wide. "And I'm only in one of your shirts. Hey, mom, dad. Come on in."

The two adults on the porch step past Grant into the house, making their way into the living room.

"Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable," Skye tells her parents, gesturing to the furniture in the living room. "We'll be right back." She grabs Grant's wrist and pulls him behind her down the hallway towards her bedroom.

"Put some clothes on," Skye instructs her boyfriend when they reach her room.

Grant nods. "Right." He moves about the room, gathering up his clothes from where they had been strewn about earlier.

"Damn it. Where's my shirt?" Skye asks, looking around the room for her t-shirt.

"Um, I think it's still out in the living room."

Skye sighs. "Why is it that my shirt always ends up in the living room before we actually make it to the bedroom?"

Grant shrugs. "I don't know."

"That was rhetorical."

"Sorry."

Skye sighs. "It's fine. I just...the last thing I expected was for my parents to show up unannounced while we're both half naked."

"Yeah, not the best first impression for me to make on them," he says, slipping his t-shirt on over his head. "Want me to wait for you?" he asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. I'm almost ready." She digs through one of her drawers and pulls out a simple gray t-shirt, slipping it on over her head. She takes a deep breath and looks at her boyfriend. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." She grabs his hand in hers, linking their fingers together, and pulls him out of the bedroom.

Reaching the entrance to the living room, they stop in the doorway, Skye watching as her parents talk quietly to one another. They're each sitting in one of Skye's chairs, heads bent close together as they talk.

Skye quickly turns to face Grant and looks up at him, speaking in a quiet voice. "We don't really have to do this, do we?"

Grant furrows his brows. "What?"

"Talk to my parents," she clarifies. "Do we actually have to do it? We can just leave for a while and not come back until they've gone back home."

"As tempting as that sounds, I really don't think you're parents are the type to just give up so easily."

Skye sighs. "No, they aren't."

He places his hands on her shoulders. "Then it's best that we go in there and get this whole thing over with, right?"

Skye narrows her eyes at him. "I hate you."

Grant smiles. "I know you don't, now let's go."

"Fine."

Skye turns around and takes a few steps into the living room. "Mom, dad," she speaks up as she moves closer to them. They both stand up from their chairs as she walks towards them. She pulls them both into a tight hug. "I'm so happy to see you guys. I had no idea you were coming."

"I texted you," her mom says.

"I've been pretty busy with work," she tells her. "Haven't had much time to check my phone. Or I might have just missed it when I did check."

"It was this morning."

"Oh, um, I was a little...preoccupied earlier. But I'm really glad to see you guys." She gives them a small smile.

"So are we, sweetie."

The sound of a throat clearing makes Skye turn around. "Oh, sorry, babe." She reaches out for Grant's hand and pulls him over to stand next to her. "Grant, these are my parents, Philip and Melinda Coulson. Mom, dad, this is Grant Ward, my boyfriend."

"Hi," Grant says with a small wave and a nervous smile. "It's great to finally meet you both; Skye's told me so much about you."

"I'm afraid we can't say the same," Melinda tells him. "Skye hasn't told us anything about you. We didn't even know she was seeing anyone." Melinda fixes her daughter with a pointed look.

"I'm sorry," Skye says. "I really meant to tell you, I swear that I did. I just never really got around to doing it. But now that you're here, I can tell you; Grant and I have been together since the beginning July. The Fourth, to be exact, at the party the company I work for was throwing. I asked Grant to be my date and we decided to see where it could go between us."

"You two have been together for five months now and you never thought about telling us about it at any point?" Melinda asks.

"I wanted to make sure this was actually something real before I told you guys," Skye tells her. "Guess it just slipped my mind to let you know."

Melinda nods. "Of course."

Skye takes a deep breath. "Okay, so now that you know, we can—"

"How long have you been sleeping with my daughter?" Phil interrupts his daughter, his gaze fixed on Grant, one of his hands loosely balled into a fist.

"Dad!" Skye shouts, her eyes wide. "What the hell?"

"Phil," Melinda reprimands her husband.

Phil ignores his wife and daughter, keeping his gaze focused on Grant. "I asked you a question. How long have you been sleeping with my daughter?"

"I, um, I really don't know how to answer that," Grant says, shifting on his feet nervously.

"It's a simple answer," Phil responds. "It's obvious that you are sleeping together considering what you both were wearing when my wife and I arrived; which, by the way, is no way that a father ever wishes to see his daughter. So the obvious question here that I'm asking you is how long have you two been sleeping together? It's a simple question."

Grant shifts on his feet again and breathes in deeply. "Yes, it's true that it may be a simple question, but it is one that I do not believe I have to answer. While you _are_ Skye's father, and a very good one from what she's told me about you, what you just asked me seems like a huge invasion of your daughter's privacy and I feel that I am in no way obligated to answer it."

Phil's face hardens even more and he takes a small step forward. "Listen here you little—"

"Okay," Skye speaks up, stepping in between her father and her boyfriend, putting her hands up. "That's enough." She looks at her boyfriend. "Grant, come into the kitchen with me, please. I need your help with the coffee maker." She moves past him and makes her way towards the kitchen.

"Really? You know better than I do how to wor—"

"Now."

Grant sighs. "Coming." He turns and follows behind her, stepping foot into the kitchen.

"What the hell just happened out there?" she whisper shouts at him. "Did you seriously think it was okay to act like that in front of my dad?"

He holds his hands up in front of him defensively. "Hey, at least I didn't slam his face into a pile of shattered glass. I've been known to do that on occasion when I get irritated."

Skye narrows her eyes at him. "So not the point right now, Grant."

He lowers his hands. "I'm sorry. I just didn't like how he was just so rude to me right off the bat. And like I said, that question was a serious invasion of our privacy, Skye. He really shouldn't be asking questions about our sex life."

She nods her head. "I agree. But you also could have handled that a little bit better than you did." She takes a deep breath. "Now, I am going to go out there and talk to my parents. You just stay in here until I call for you."

"I'm not a dog, Skye," Grant calls to his girlfriend's retreating form.

Ignoring him, Skye makes her way back out into her living room, stopping when she reaches her parents. She lets out a breath. "Okay, I'm back." She fixes her dad with a hard glare. "What the actual hell is wrong with you?"

"Skye, don't speak to your father that way," Melinda says to her daughter.

She sighs. "Sorry. I just don't get why you would think it's even remotely okay to talk to my boyfriend like that. Having the first thing out of your mouth to him be a question about our sex life was completely uncalled for. Not okay at all."

"Yet it's okay for him to speak to me the way he did?" Phil asks, gesturing towards the kitchen.

Skye rolls her eyes. "Of course not. I already talked to Grant. Don't go throwing stones, dad, you're both in the wrong here. Though, you more so than Grant is, if I'm being honest. I just can't believe you two are off to such a rocky start, this is not how I wanted things to go."

"Well did you really expect anything different?"

Skye furrows her brows. "What?"

"I saw that tattoo of his," Phil says. "He was shirtless when he answered the door. I saw his tattoo. That's a Hydra tattoo. He's a member of Hydra."

"Yeah, I know. And I don't care. At least, not a lot, because we—wait. How did you know it's a Hydra tattoo? You guys live practically on the other side of the country."

Phil shrugs. "I read."

Skye raises an eyebrow. "You read? Does that mean that you actually did research on the city I moved to?"

"I wanted to make sure you were moving somewhere safe, Skye. And this city is definitely not one of those. The only reason I didn't come down here earlier to get you is because your mother wouldn't let me."

"Thank goodness she didn't," Skye replies. "I really like it here, dad. I have a nice apartment, a great job, amazing friends, and an incredible boyfriend that I love. I'm not leaving."

"He's _Hydra_ , Skye," Phil repeats with more emphasis. "Did that tidbit just never come up?"

Skye shakes her head. "No, dad. I already told you that I know. I've known he's a part of a Hydra ever since I met him. But he's not at all like the rest of those guys."

"Oh, so he's just more psychotic than all the rest of them?"

"No, he isn't. The exact opposite, in fact. He's sweet, and kind, and loveable, and thoughtful, and treats me how you've always wanted me to be treated. He treats me as a person and with respect. I love him, dad, and he loves me too."

"Are you sure this is love, sweetheart?" Melinda asks carefully.

Skye looks at her mom and nods. "Absolutely. I've never felt his way about anyone before. He makes me really, really happy. And as much as I want you guys to be okay around him, knowing that he's a part of Hydra, I know I can't force anything to happen. It took my friends a while to be okay with this, and because you're my parents and just want what's best for me, I know it could take a while longer. But I don't think Grant's going anywhere, he's definitely in this for the long haul." Skye waits with bated breath for either of her parents to speak up.

"Okay," her mom speaks after a quiet moment.

"Really?" Skye asks.

Melinda nods. "Yes. We can't promise you much, but we can promise you that we'll try and be okay with this new relationship of yours."

"Mel—"

Melinda's head snaps towards her husband. "She's a grown woman, Phil. She's going to make her own decisions. We can't stop her from seeing him."

"But he's—"

"I know. But obviously the fact that he's in Hydra doesn't seem to bother Skye. We taught her well, Phil. We need to trust in her decisions and hope that she makes the right ones."

Phil sighs. "Fine." He looks at his daughter. "If he hurts you in any way, just remember that I am well trained in the art of fire arms."

Skye rolls her eyes. "You're so dramatic, dad. But I'm really glad you guys are going to at least try and be okay with this. It really means a lot to me."

"We just want you to be happy," Melinda tells her.

"I know. And I am." She takes a deep breath. "Okay. Now that that's all taken care of." She looks over her shoulder towards the kitchen. "Grant," she calls out. "You can come back out here now."

A few seconds later, Grant emerges from the kitchen and joins them in the living room, wrapping an arm around Skye's waist. Skye smiles up at him and leans into his side.

Looking back at her parents, she opens her mouth to speak. "Alright, now that everyone has been put into their place," she quickly glances at her father and Grant, "we can try to move forward. Since it's about time for dinner why don't we all eat together," Skye suggests. "Grant was actually in the middle of making dinner for the two of us when you guys showed up but I'm sure he won't mind expanding that to a dinner for four. Right, babe?" she asks, looking up at Grant.

He smiles down at her. "I'd be happy to."

Skye smiles. "Great." She looks at her parents. "Mom, dad, you two can make yourselves comfortable in here again while Grant makes dinner. I'm going to go in there with him for just a few minutes and then I'll be back out to entertain you until dinner's ready." She gently pulls out of Grant's hold to instead grab his hand and pull him into the kitchen. "Dinner for four. Think you can handle it?"

Grant takes a deep breath and nods. "I'll have to switch what I was planning to make, but I think I can handle it."

Skye lets out a breath and smiles. "Okay, great. I really want this to go well."

Grant places his hands on her shoulders and looks her straight in the eyes. "Everything is going to be fine. Just relax."

"Right. Relax. I can do that."

"Good. Now go out to your parents, I'll let you know when dinner's ready."

Skye nods. "Okay." She leans up onto her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Thank you," she whispers.

"It's fine," he says back. "Now go." He turns her around and gives her a small shove forward.

Skye shakes him off. "Alright, alright, I'm going."

Grant smiles at her retreating form before turning to the counter next to him. "Okay," he breathes out. "Ideas for dinner, ideas for dinner..." he mumbles under his breath as he thinks. After a moment he smiles to himself. "Perfect. That'll definitely work."

.

.

.

"Oh my goodness, Grant, this is amazing," Skye says after she swallows her food. She looks over at him and smiles. "You never fail to amaze me with your incredible culinary skills."

Grant smiles back at her. "Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I found the recipe online a little while back and then I remembered about it tonight and decided to try it out."

"Well you did an excellent job," Skye tells him. "What do you guys think of it?" Skye asks her parents.

"It's alright," Phil says quickly, focusing his attention back on his food.

"I think it tastes very good," Melinda tells Grant. "You're very talented, Grant. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"My grandmother taught me," Grant replies. "She passed away when I was younger but I always loved to cook with her. It's pretty much one of the only happy memories I have growing up."

"I'm sorry about your grandmother," Melinda says.

He gives a small smile. "Thanks. It was tough at first; she was the only one who really cared about me. But it's gotten easier over the years to deal with it."

Melinda smiles. "That's good to hear. And your grandmother taught you very well, this food is really very good. I'm sure she'd be very proud of you."

Grant's smile grows ever so slightly. "Thank you. I'm just glad I had everything I needed already here and didn't need to go out and buy anything. Sometimes Skye's cabinets and fridge can be a little sparse."

"Hey," Skye says, "they aren't as sparse anymore as they used to be. Not since I started dating you. You're always making me buy healthy foods that actually have to be prepared and turned into something else before you can actually eat it. I was perfectly fine before with just buying pre-made things that just needed to be microwaved or stuck in the oven for ten minutes to heat up. Or ordering takeout. That's always an excellent option. And it's pretty much how I lived during college."

"But that's no way to eat," he tells her. "I can't believe it actually took me as long as it did to get you to buy other foods that are actually good for you."

"I can't believe it either," she says. "You're such a health nut, I'm surprised you didn't reprimand me the first time you saw the inside of my fridge."

"Oh, believe me. I wanted to do so very badly. But our relationship was still pretty new and I didn't want to risk ruining it."

"Well I'm glad you didn't," she tells him. "I'm sure things wouldn't have turned out that bad, but I'm glad you didn't want to risk things so early on."

"So am I," he says. "Now that I've got you I don't ever want to let you go."

Skye just smiles brightly at him, not saying a word.

A throat clearing breaks their attention from one another. They turn their heads to see Phil and Melinda staring at them, Phil with his eyes narrowed and Melinda with a small hint of a smile on her face.

"Sorry," Skye says, ducking her head slightly when she feels the heat rushing to her cheeks.

"It's fine," Melinda tells her. "You two seemed to be in your own world for a moment there."

"It's really not that hard to do when Skye's my entire world," Grant replies smoothly.

Skye turns to him and drops her jaw.

"What?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "Nothing. That was just really smooth and super sweet." She gives him a small smile. "I love you."

Grant smiles back. "I love you too."

Skye leans forward to give him a quick peck on the lips before turning back to her food and continuing to eat.

.

.

.

"You know, I have to admit that today went a whole lot better than I thought it would," Skye comments as she and Grant get ready for bed.

"Even though your dad looked like he was about ready to skin me alive the entire time?" Grant asks, sliding his jeans off and tossing them into the hamper.

Skye sighs. "I'm really sorry about that."

"It's fine, I promise. I completely understand where he's coming from. You're his only daughter; he just wants you to stay safe." He reaches out and pulls back the blankets, sliding underneath and sitting up against the headboard.

Skye lets her hair down out of its loose bun and runs her fingers through it to get out any tangles. "The only problem with that is that he can be super overprotective most of the time. You should have seen him in high school whenever I went out on a date."

"Was it bad?"

Skye lets out a quick laugh as she climbs under the covers. "Nah, he just always made sure to have his rifle out and be cleaning it whenever my date would come to pick me up."

"Wow," Grant says. "I feel really bad for those guys."

"So did I at the time. I'm just really glad he didn't have his gun with him tonight. Though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he found some way to get it here so he could threaten you with it."

"But he didn't even know about us until today," Grant says.

"Do not underestimate the power of a father," Skye says seriously. "Because I swear, they're actually kind of insane. Worse than mothers can be sometimes."

Grant smiles. "I'll be sure to keep that in the back of my mind."

Skye nods once with a small smile on her face. "Good. Now go to sleep. Sleep is good."

"Very good," Grant says. He leans forward and gives her a quick kiss before scooting down on the bed so he's lying back on his pillow. "Goodnight, beautiful."

Skye smiles and leans down to press a kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, handsome," she says, flipping over onto her side and scooting back against him, letting out a content sigh when his arm wraps around her, holding her close as they fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the most wonderful time of the year...CHRISTMAS!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one was definitely fun to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

Lifting himself up onto one elbow, Grant smiles to himself as he leans over Skye's body, pressing a single kiss to the crook of her neck. "Merry Christmas," he whispers in her ear before pressing a small kiss to her jaw line.

Skye smiles at the feeling of his lips against her skin. "Merry Christmas," she says back quietly. She turns her head to look at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Grant replies, lying back down on his side. He lets out a content sigh. "You know, I think this is going to be the first Christmas in a really long time that I'm actually going to enjoy."

Skye turns so she's lying on her side facing him. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Hydra doesn't exactly scream 'happy holidays'."

Skye smiles and nods. "Right, of course. Well you're in luck because I am pretty much an expert at all things Christmas."

"So you've said before."

"Well it's true," she tells him. "My dad absolutely loves Christmas so he passed on his love of the holiday to me as I was growing up."

"You seem to have inherited a lot of your passions and hobbies from your dad," he says.

"I inherited some stuff from my mom, too," she replies.

"Like what?" he asks.

Skye smirks. "Her ability to make most any man bend to her will with a single, well-pointed, look."

Grant chuckles. "That's definitely a useful skill to have."

"Yes it is. But enough of that. It's time to get this wonderful holiday officially started."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" he asks.

"First, breakfast," she begins to explain. "Because you can't open Christmas gifts on an empty stomach."

Grant nods. "Of course."

"Then after presents we'll hang out here for a little while, watch some Christmas movies, eat lunch and just be together."

Grant smiles. "I'm loving this plan already."

Skye smiles back. "After lunch we're going to meet up with Fitz and Jemma so we can hang out for a little while with them and exchange gifts."

"Day sounds better by the second."

"Then after that we're going to come back here and get ready for my company's Christmas party where we'll be having dinner. Then we come back here and go to sleep, or just relax and do something until we eventually fall asleep."

Grant takes a deep breath. "Well, I'd say that we have a very busy day ahead of us."

"I told you, babe, I'm an _expert_ when it comes to Christmas. I do not take this holiday lightly."

"And I love you all the more for it." He takes a deep breath. "So should we get up and get breakfast, then?"

Skye nods. "Yes. I want pancakes."

"Pancakes it is, then. And I'm assuming I'm making them?"

Skye smiles and nods. "You would assume correctly."

"Great. I'll meet you out there." He drops a quick kiss to her lips before pulling the covers back and climbing out of the bed. Stretching his arms over his head, he stands from the bed and makes his out of the room and down the hallway towards the kitchen.

.

.

.

"And that is the last of the dishes," Grant says as he places the last utensil into the bottom level of Skye's dishwasher before pushing the drawer in. He fills the soap container and then closes the door of the dishwasher, pressing a few buttons to start the wash.

"Awesome," Skye says with an excited smile. "Now it is time to open presents."

"Yes, I know," he says. "Let's go." He gently places his hand on her lower back, guiding her out to the living room. "You only got me one thing, right?" he asks as they make their way into the room. "Because that's what we agreed on."

"Yes, Grant, I only got you one gift," she assures him. "I know what we agreed on."

He nods his head as they sit down on the couch. "Okay, good. Just checking."

She gives him a small smile. "So, do you want to give me my present first, or should I give you yours?"

Grant smiles. "Do I actually have to answer that? Because I know deep down you want to open your present first."

Skye nods. "True, but I thought I'd at least give you an option."

Grant chuckles. "Well I appreciate it. So are you ready for your present, then?" he asks her.

Skye gives him a look. "Obviously."

"Alright." He reaches over to the coffee table and picks up a rectangular box and hands it to her. "Here you go."

Skye takes the box from him and sets it in her lap, already pulling at the festive wrapping paper. "I'm excited to see what this is."

"I think you're really going to like it," Grant tells her. "At least, I hope you will."

"I'm sure I will." Skye tosses the wrapping paper to the ground and pulls off the lid of the box. "This is the first _Harry Potter_ book," she says, pulling the item out and setting the box aside.

"In mint condition," Grant says with a small smile.

"But I already have this one," she reminds him. "I have all of them."

"Check the inside of the front cover."

"Okay." Skye flips open the cover of the book and then gasps. "Oh my goodness." She looks up at Grant with wide eyes. "Is that actually JK Rowling's signature?"

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah. But read what it says."

Skye looks back down at the writing and reads aloud. " _'Skye, I hear you're a huge fan of the wizarding world and all the wonders that it has to offer. May all of your wildest dreams come true, and the magic never die. JK Rowling.'_ " Skye looks up at Grant. "How on earth did you get me a personalized signed copy of the first _Harry Potter_ book?"

Grant shrugs. "I helped get a couple of people to the UK. They somehow managed to run in the same circles as JK and were more than happy to help me get that for you. Do you like it?"

Skye smiles and leans forward to give him a kiss. "I love it," she says against his lips. "Thank you." She leans back and looks down at the book again. "This is amazing. Absolutely amazing."

Grant smiles. "Well I'm glad you think so."

"Okay," Skye says as she sets her book aside. "Time for your present." She leans forward and grabs a small gift box off of the coffee table. She looks back at Grant and holds the box out to him. "Here."

Grant takes the box from her with a small smile. "Thanks."

"I really hope you like it," she says.

"I'm sure I will," he repeats her own words as he unties the bow on top. Setting the ribbon on the coffee table he pulls the lid off of the box and his brows furrow together when he sees what's sitting inside the cushioned material. "A key?" he asks, lifting the item out and setting the box back on the table.

Skye nods her head. "Yeah."

"What's it for?"

"For here," she tells him. "It's a key...to my apartment."

"A key to your apartment?" he repeats. "Really?"

Skye nods again. "Mm-hmm. I figure you're here enough as it is, and now this way you can come and go as you please without having to wait for me to let you in." She bites her bottom lip between her teeth. "What do you think? Is it a good enough Christmas present? Or was it totally lame?"

Grant smiles and leans forward, capturing Skye's lips in his. "It's perfect," he says against her lips. He leans back to smile at her. "It's probably the best gift I've ever gotten."

"That makes me really happy to hear. But also a little sad."

"Don't be sad," he tells her. "I'm not. Getting to spend Christmas with you is wonderful. I can't think of a better way to spend it."

"I completely agree," Skye says with a smile.

* * *

"Fitz, Jemma," Skye calls out when she sees her friends. "Over here." She waves them over to where she and Grant are sitting inside Starbucks.

"Merry Christmas," Jemma says with a smile when she and Fitz reach the table.

"Merry Christmas," Skye says back. "You guys having a good day so far?"

Fitz nods. "Yeah. Got some really great gifts from my mum. She sent them earlier in the year but I wasn't allowed to open them until today."

"Aww, you poor thing," Skye teases. "You had to wait until Christmas to open your gifts." She lets out a small laugh at the look on Fitz's face as he grumbles something under his breath and leans back in his chair.

"So, how has your Christmas been?" Jemma asks them.

"Amazing," Skye tells her. "Probably the best Christmas I've had yet. And it's all thanks to this guy right here," she says as she turns her head to smile at Grant.

Grant smiles back. "Same for me about you."

"Well that's nice," Jemma says. "It's great to see the both of you still going so strong."

"You really mean that?" Skye asks her friend.

Jemma nods. "Yes. It may still be a bit weird for me to be around you two together, but I really am making my best effort to not be. I know that Grant makes you happy and that's all I want for you to be."

Skye smiles. "Thanks, Jem. That really means a lot to me. I love having you as a friend."

Jemma smiles. "I feel the same way."

"Are we going to exchange gifts now?" Fitz pipes up. "I thought that's what we were doing here."

"Let them have this time, Fitz," Grant tells him, watching with a smile as Skye and Jemma lean forward in their seats, heads bent together as they delve into a conversation neither man knows a thing about. "We have a couple of hours, plenty of time left to exchange gifts."

Fitz sighs. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Grant smiles. "Of course I am. Do you want to go up to the counter and get coffee or something?" he asks the engineer. "I have a feeling they're going to be talking for a while about whatever it is they're actually talking about."

Fitz gives him a small smile. "Yeah, sure."

"Great." Grant stands up from his chair and makes his way towards the counter of the coffee shop, dropping a kiss to Skye's head as he passes by her. Fitz follows right behind him, both of them falling into line behind all the others waiting to order their coffee.

* * *

"I'm still not sure if it's a good idea for me to come to this party," Grant says to Skye as they climb out of her car in the SHIELD Industries parking lot.

"It is a perfectly good idea," Skye tells him, moving around the front of the car to meet him.

"But why?" he asks, wrapping his arms around her waist and linking his hands together behind her back.

She reaches up to wrap her own arms around his neck, standing up on her toes just a hair. "Because my company's putting it on and it'd be rude not to go," she tells him.

"I don't work here, though," he reminds her.

She nods. "I know that."

"And you also realize that most people in there are probably going to avoid us, right?"

"But Fitz and Jemma won't," she says with a small smile. "They'll be inside at the party and we can hang out with them the whole night if it comes down to it."

"Yeah, I guess we can do that."

"Great." She drops her arms from his neck. "Now come on, I want to get inside before all the food is gone."

Grant laughs quietly. "Yes, of course." He releases his hold on her, keeping one arm around her waist to hold her close as they walk towards the front entrance of SHIELD Industries.

When they get to the front doors, Grant reaches out and grabs one of the door handles, pulling it back and allowing Skye to step through. He steps in behind her, letting the door close behind them.

"Hey, Eric." Skye smiles at the man standing behind the front desk. "Still working the front desk at the Christmas party?"

"Making sure everybody gets there okay," he tells her. "I see you brought him," he says bitterly when his eyes find Grant.

Skye sighs. "Yes. I brought my boyfriend with me to the party. Is that going to be a problem?"

"As long as he doesn't try to kill anyone I think we'll be okay."

"Well it's a good thing I don't plan on doing that," Grant replies.

"The night's still young."

"Merry Christmas, Eric," Skye says before either man can say anything else. "Let's go, Grant." She tugs on his hand to pull him behind her towards the party, moving down the long hallway until they reach a set of double doors being propped open.

"Wow, this place looks great," Grant says to Skye as they step foot into the large room.

"It really does," Skye responds. "You don't even notice the tacky wallpaper they have because of all the decorations in this place."

"Tacky wallpaper?" Grant asks with a raised eyebrow.

Skye nods. "Yeah. This place may be really good at what they do, but their decorating skills are definitely sub par."

Grant smiles. "Alright, now that we've established how bad this company is at decorating, maybe we can go find a place to sit or something. Maybe get some food.

"Let's find somewhere to sit first," she tells him. "I think Fitz and Jemma might already be here."

"Well then let's go find them," he says with a small smile, pulling Skye through the room in search of their friends.

They make their way through the large crowd of people, Skye greeting a few of her coworkers as they go, keeping her eyes peeled for her two friends.

"There you guys are." Skye smiles when she finally sees Jemma and Fitz sitting at one of the tables along the side of the room, talking to each other. "Long time no see. How are you?" she asks them when she and Grant reach their table.

"We're doing very well since we last saw you, thank you," Jemma says. "And you?"

"As well as we can be," Skye replies. "Mind if we sit?"

"Please do," Jemma says, gesturing to the empty chairs at the table.

Grant reaches out and pulls one of the chairs out from the table, allowing Skye to sit down as he pushes it forward slightly for her.

She smiles up at him. "Thank you."

Grant leans down to give her a quick kiss. "You're welcome."

Skye takes a deep breath and looks at her friends. "So, anything exciting happen yet? Any drama we need to know about?"

"Why would there be any drama?" Jemma asks with furrowed brows.

Skye shrugs. "I don't know. The place I worked at before coming here had parties like this but something always went down. One of the reasons I decided to move was because of all that. It was just way too much to handle."

"Well then it's a good thing there's never really any of that here," Fitz tells her. "Like we said when you first got here, it's a pretty good environment, not a lot of hostility."

"That's definitely an added bonus to working here," Skye says. "Everyone's usually pretty friendly. Of course there are the occasional people who actually think that it's okay to tell me how to handle my own love life."

"People are still talking about us?" Grant asks. "I figured it would have calmed down since the Fourth."

"For the most part it has," Skye replies. "But there's still the occasional sideways glance and whisper whenever I'm in the room. Most people are over it by now, though. Or at least, I think they're over it because they're not acting all weird around me."

"Well if any of them keep giving you a hard time, just let me know. I'll be happy to help straighten them out."

Skye rolls her eyes. "I appreciate the offer, babe, but I really don't think you threatening people is going to help in any way."

Grant shrugs. "Just a suggestion."

Skye smiles and leans over to kiss his cheek. "And it was a great one, thank you."

He smiles back. "Anytime, babe."

.

.

.

"Excuse me?"

Turning his head, Grant furrows his brows when he sees the tall, skinny man standing directly in front of him. "Hi. Can I help you with something?" he asks him.

"Yeah. You're Grant Ward, right?"

Grant turns fully so he's facing the other man. "That's me. And you are?"

"I'm Antoine Triplett. But everybody just calls me Trip."

Grant nods his head in recognition of the name and gives him a tight smile. "Well if you're looking for Skye, she's over there with Fitz and Jemma." He gestures the table where the three are sitting.

Trip glances over his shoulder before looking back at Grant. He takes a deep breath. "Actually, I came over here to talk to you."

"What for?" Grant asks.

"I wanted to apologize."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Grant tells him.

Trip nods. "Yes, I do. I assumed the worst about you."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone has," Grant comments.

"And I'm starting to realize that I may have been wrong. That you're really not that bad of a guy."

"Don't let it get around too much," Grant jokes with a hint of a smile.

"Could you be serious for a minute, man? I'm trying to apologize here."

Grant sighs. "Sorry. Continue."

"Thank you. Look, I'm not saying that you're a saint or anything, because you're far from it, but I've seen the way you are with Skye tonight. And I've seen her posts on Facebook and Instagram. You make her happy."

"She makes me happy too," Grant tells him. "I've had other relationships before, but none of them ever lasted that long and they were never like this."

"Skye's a great girl, and an even better friend," Trip tells him. "I don't want to lose her friendship because I can't handle being in the same room as someone who's associated with the people who killed my best friend."

"Skye told me about that. I'm sorry. If I had known what they were doing I would have tried to stop them. No one should have to die like that."

"Thanks. But uh, I guess what I'm really trying to say here is that I hope that you and I can find some type of...civil relationship to have. For Skye, of course."

Grant nods. "Well I'd do anything for Skye, especially so that she can keep all the friendships she's made since being here."

"That's good," Trip says with a small nod. "Really good."

* * *

"Today was definitely a day I won't be forgetting anytime soon," Grant says as he and Skye lie together in her bed, his body curled comfortable around hers.

Skye turns her head to look back at him. "Yeah?"

He nods. "Yeah. I had a lot of fun. Haven't had that much fun on Christmas since Gramsy was alive."

"Well I'm glad you had fun with the holiday again."

"So am I," he says back. "And I think a lot of it has to do with you."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. You made it enjoyable for me again. It wasn't just another day this time around. It was an actual holiday. So thank you for that."

She smiles at him. "Happy I could help."

"Me too. And hey, I meant to tell you earlier, but I didn't get the chance to, Trip came up to me at the party today."

Skye's face falls. "What did he say? I'm so sorry if he was rude to you. I didn't think he would actually—"

"Skye, it's fine. He wasn't rude to me."

She furrows her brows. "He wasn't?"

Grant shakes his head. "No. He apologized to me."

"For what?"

"For just assuming that I'm a bad guy and avoiding you because of what happened with his friend. He knows I didn't do it."

"So are you two friends now, then?"

Grant chuckles. "I don't think I'd go that far quite yet. But he said he's going to make an effort to be more civil towards me."

Skye beams. "It's a Christmas miracle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Trip and Grant are going to try and be civil towards each other. Yay! And Grant got Skye the first Harry Potter book with a personalized autograph. How sweet. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a new year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one was kinda fun to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Awesome, I will see you guys then. Bye."

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye hits the end call button and holds it in one hand as she enters the living room.

"So what did they say?" Grant asks his girlfriend, looking away from the TV screen.

"Jemma and Fitz are totally down for a New Year's get together," Skye says to Grant with an excited smile on her face.

"That's good," he replies.

"It totally is," she says back. "Even if it's just the four of us, it'll still be tons of fun."

"No one else you want to invite?" he asks.

Skye shrugs. "Not really."

"What about Trip?" Grant asks.

Skye furrows her brows. "What about him?"

"You should call and invite him," he suggests.

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. I mean, I know it might be a little uncomfortable for him to be here while I'm here, but he did say that he'd try and make an effort. And the only way he can do that is if we offer him opportunities to hang out with us."

Skye gives him a small smile. "I love you."

He smiles back. "I love you too. Now call Trip and invite him over."

Skye nods. "I will do that." She looks back down at her phone and opens up her contact list, scrolling down until she finds Trip's name. She taps on it and then holds the phone up to her ear, waiting for her friend to answer.

_"Hello?"_

"Trip, hey. It's Skye."

_"Skye, hey girl. What's up?"_

"I have a question for you," she tells him.

_"Alright, I'm listening."_

"Are you busy New Year's Eve?"

_"Not that I know of. Why?"_

"Well, Grant and I are having a small get together, just us, Fitz, and Jemma, and he actually suggested that I call you and ask if you want to come over and hang out with us."

_"Really?"_

She nods. "Yeah. I mean, you totally don't have to if you'll be uncomfortable or anything like that, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask."

_"Wow. Uh, New Year's Eve, you said?"_

"Mm-hmm. We're probably going to just sit around in the living room and hang out, Grant's cooking some stuff for us to snack on, and we'll watch the New Year's celebration on TV. What do you say? Wanna come over?"

 _"I'd love to,"_ Trip says after a brief pause.

Skye grins. "Awesome."

 _"Is it alright if I bring someone with me?"_ he asks. _"A...friend?"_

Skye smiles. "Ooh, a lady friend?" she teases with a slight wiggle to her eyebrows even though he can't see her.

Trip sighs. _"Yes, my friend is a woman. So can I bring her to the party?"_

"Of course," Skye tells him. "Any _friend_ of yours is a friend of mine."

_"Cool. I guess I'll see you for New Year's, then."_

"Yeah, see you then. Bye, Trip."

_"Bye."_

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye ends the call and looks up at Grant. "Looks like Trip's coming to the party. And he's bringing a special lady friend too."

Grant nods. "Yeah, I caught that part."

"Right." She takes a deep breath and moves over to sit down next to him on the couch. "Okay, now that we know who is coming over for New Year's and don't have to worry about that anymore, what should we do?"

Grant smiles as he leans over to Skye and presses a kiss to her shoulder. "I have a few ideas," he whispers against her skin.

Skye smiles back, ducking her head to capture his lips in hers, one hand cupping his cheek. "Great minds think alike," she says against his lips, making his smile grow bigger.

* * *

"Grant! Babe, can you get the door, please?" Skye calls from her bedroom.

"Already on it," he replies, moving out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

Pulling it open, he smiles when he sees Fitz and Jemma standing on the porch. "Hey guys. Come on in." He steps back and holds the door open wider for them to move across the threshold and into the apartment.

"Good to see you again, Grant," Fitz says with a small nod of his head.

"You too," Grant says back, going to close the door after they step inside.

"Whoa, hang on."

Stopping, Grant pulls the door back open to see Trip making his way up to the porch, a beautiful dark skinned woman trailing behind him.

Grant gives him a polite smile. "Trip, hey. Glad you could make it."

"Yeah, me too," Trip says, stepping into the apartment.

Grant closes the door and turns to face the four other adults in the room. "Skye should be out soon," he tells them. "She's in the bedroom getting dressed. Feel free to make yourselves comfortable while you wait," he says, gesturing to the living room. "I just need to go take care of some things in the kitchen." He gives them a small smile and then turns to make his way back into the kitchen.

"Hey beautiful," Grant says with a smile to his girlfriend as he passes by her on his way to the kitchen.

"Hey handsome," Skye says back. She gives his arm a light squeeze before moving into the living room, smiling when she sees her friends. "There's all my favorite people," she says aloud. Her eyes zone in on the woman with Trip. "And the one person here I don't know. Yet." She steps towards the woman and holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Skye."

The woman takes her hand. "I'm Raina. You have a lovely place."

"Thanks," Skye says back. "So you're Trip's friend?" she asks.

Raina nods with a small hint of a smile. "Yes, I am."

"Well it's great to meet you," Skye tells her.

"You as well. And um, that man that answered the door, was that Grant Ward?"

Skye sighs and nods. "Yeah. He's my boyfriend. Let me guess, you're terrified of anyone involved with Hydra just like everyone else in this town?"

Raina shakes her head. "No, not really."

"Oh," Skye says, slightly taken aback. "Well that's definitely a first. Most people in this town run the other way when they see someone from Hydra walking down the street."

"I'm not most people," Raina tells her calmly. "And neither are you, considering you're dating one of the leader's sons."

Skye smiles and nods her head. "Yeah, there is that. I was a little hesitant at first about him, considering all the stories and whatnot. But he's really not that bad of a guy once you get to know him. It's really all just a mask that he wears."

"And there goes my big secret," Grant says, entering the room with a small smile.

Skye turns and looks at her boyfriend. "Babe, it's really not that much of a secret anymore to those of us in this room."

Grant nods. "You are correct. But it's still a secret to everyone else in this town. And I'd like it to stay that way for a little while longer."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Fine, fine. I promise I won't tell anyone else unless you specifically say that it's okay."

Grant smiles down at her. "Thank you."

She smiles back. "No problem." Skye looks back the group of people in her living and takes a deep breath. "Alright, let's get this party started."

.

.

.

"Oh man, I would so love to go to New York one day for New Years," Skye comments as the group of six all sit around in her living room watching the festivities play out on the TV screen in front of them.

"That does look like a lot of fun," Jemma says.

"Don't they have a party like that out on the West Coast too?" Fitz asks Skye.

Skye nods. "Yeah, they do. It's in LA. I've been there a couple of times because I grew up there."

"What's it like?" Grant asks.

"A lot of booze and people getting drunk," she tells him. "Sometimes it just felt like Spring Break, to be completely honest. I mean, I guess it could be fun if you're really into that sort of thing. They always have pretty good music, though. That's usually the reason I went. My ex went with me a few times, but he was never around when the clock struck midnight so I didn't have anyone to kiss. He usually went off to go get drunk with some of his friends."

"That's a shame," Jemma says.

Skye shrugs. "Eh. I was used to it. Which probably isn't considered a good thing."

"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore," Grant tells her. "Because now you have me. And you can bet that I'm always going to be here at midnight on New Year's for you to kiss."

Skye smiles up at him. "Yes I do."

"You two are so nauseating," Fitz pipes up with a pinched look on his face.

Grant and Skye turn their heads towards Fitz.

"What?" Skye asks.

"I said you two are nauseating," he repeats. "You're always all over each other and being sappy."

"Well just because you don't have someone," Skye retorts.

"Who says I don't?" he replies.

Skye's eyes go wide. "You have a girlfriend?"

Fitz stills. "I, uh, um, I, what?"

"Skye, leave him alone," Grant says.

"He just implied that he's dating someone, Grant. I wanna know who he's dating."

"Skye…"

She sighs. "Fine. I'll drop this. For now." She looks at Fitz and narrows her eyes. "Don't think I'm going to forget about this."

.

.

.

"Alright, here we go," Skye says excitedly as the countdown on the television screen starts while the large disco-type ball begins to drop. She looks up at Grant. "You ready for a new year to start?"

Grant smiles and nods, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I definitely am."

"So am I. Let's do our best to make a great one, okay?"

"As long as I'm with you it'll be a great year," he tells her. "And I know you're probably going to say that's cheesy, but it's true."

"I wasn't going to say that," she says. Grant gives her a look. "Okay. So maybe I _was_ going to say that. But it was also super sweet, so you have that going for you."

"Glad to hear it," he says.

"Oh, it's almost midnight," Jemma speaks up with a wide smile on her face, scooting forward more towards the edge of her chair.

Everyone focuses their attention on the TV screen, watching the ball drop down to the roof of One Times Square.

"Five…four…three...two...one...Happy New Year!"

Sitting up as tall as she can, Skye smiles as she presses her lips to Grant's, wrapping one arm up around his neck to pull him down closer.

Grant smiles as he deepens the kiss between the two of them, tightening his arm around her waist.

"Happy New Year, babe," Skye says to Grant with a smile when she pulls away.

Grant smiles back at her. "Happy New Year, Skye."

Skye moves her arm from his neck and wraps both of her arms around his waist and hugs him tight, turning her attention back to the TV screen, watching the excitement continue to unfold.

Small movements out of the corner of her eye catches her attention and she turns her head to see what it is. Her eyes go wide when she sees Fitz and Jemma locked in an embrace, their lips pressed together.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on," Skye says when the two pull apart. "Fitz, is there something you want to share with the group?" she asks him with a raised eyebrow.

Fitz and Jemma look at one another before looking back at their friends.

"Um, Fitz and I are together now," Jemma says.

"Yeah, I kinda put that together from the way you guys just sucked face when the ball dropped."

"We did not 'suck face' as you so eloquently put it," Jemma retorts.

"That's kind of what it looked like to me. So when did you guys actually make everything official?" Skye asks them.

"Not too long ago, actually," Jemma tells her. "Just a few days after Christmas."

"This is so awesome," Skye says with a smile. "You know what this means now?"

"What?" Fitz asks.

"Double dates!" she exclaims. "Double dates that are _actually_ double dates and not just 'group outings' because you two are an actual couple now."

Jemma smiles. "Oh you're right."

"Of course I am," Skye replies. She looks over at Trip and Raina. "And maybe, we could even make them _triple_ dates, if that were a possibility," she says with a knowing smile.

"That sounds like fun," Raina says with a small smile. She looks at Trip. "What do you think, Antoine?"

Trip gives a small shrug. "I guess that could be fun."

Skye grins. "Awesome. This is going to be such a great year. I can feel it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> Trip and Raina showed up again and FitzSimmons is a thing now. I'm happy, are you happy? :)
> 
> Also, I don't watch AoS anymore, but after a few tweets that I caught at the end of last night's east coast airing, I loaded the episode online and skipped to the end to see what everyone was fussing about.  
> SPOILERS AHEAD (if you still care about that sort of thing)...  
> Grant. Ward. Is. Back. Sort of. They went into this mainframe/Framework thing and it's some kind of altered reality or whatever, and in it, Skyeward is a thing. You didn't actually see Grant, just a photo of him and Skye and then his arm in the bed. But still. It's happening. Kind of. Everyone's freaking out. Think I might watch just cause Brett's back, but I don't want to give this toxic show my views so I might just watch it online still.
> 
> Anyways. Just needed to get that off my chest.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one was pretty fun to write.
> 
> Enjoy!

Slowly opening her eyes and breathing in deeply, Skye frowns at the absence of the warm body that is usually next to her when she wakes up in the morning.

Furrowing her brows together, she rolls over onto her other side and finds a piece of paper folded in half with her name neatly scrawled across the front sitting on top of the nightstand.

Reaching out for it, she pulls herself up into a sitting position and holds the note in front of her to read.

_Good morning, beautiful. Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. Went out for a bit to take care of some things (it's nothing bad, I promise). Left some breakfast on the table for you.  
_ _See you when you get home from work.  
_ _I love you,  
_ _Grant_

Smiling at his use of the word 'home', Skye sets the note back on the nightstand and then lets out a breath, running one hand through her messy bed hair.

Tossing the blankets off of her body, she stands up from the bed, grabbing one of Grant's t-shirts off the back of her desk chair and pulling it on over her sports bra.

Letting out a yawn, Skye shuffles across the floor and out of her room towards the kitchen, her stomach already growling at the smell of the breakfast Grant left for her.

A plate of French toast drizzled in syrup, multiple strips of bacon, and scrambled eggs sits at one end of the table, a glass of orange juice sitting next to it. A small glass vase with a single red rose in it sits near the plate, another note leaning against the vase.

She smiles and lets out a little laugh as she shakes her head, moving towards the table.

"Who knew he could be such a romantic," Skye mutters to herself as she reaches out to grab the note.

_Hope you enjoy your breakfast, beautiful.  
_ _Don't worry about cleaning up the dishes. I'll do it when I get back a little later.  
_ _I love you,  
_ _Grant_

Smiling at the note, she sets it back on the table and sits down in the chair, pulling herself closer to the table.

Picking up her fork she takes a deep breath before digging into the food in front of her.

* * *

"Morning, guys," Skye greets her friends as she makes her way into the break room. "Happy Valentine's Day to you all."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Skye," Jemma says with an enthusiastic smile from the table she's sitting at with Fitz. "How's your morning been so far? Have you and Grant celebrated yet, or are you waiting until after work?"

"Pretty sure we're waiting until after work," Skye tells her as she hangs her coat up. "Mainly because Grant wasn't there when I woke up."

Jemma furrows her brows. "He wasn't."

Skye shakes her head. "Nope." She sits down across from Fitz and Jemma. "I woke up and found a note on the nightstand saying he had to go out and do some things this morning. But he did leave me a very delicious homemade breakfast."

"Well that's romantic."

Skye smiles. "Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "But what about you two? Just like me and Grant, it's also your first Valentine's Day as a couple, and you haven't even been together that long."

"Fitz brought me some very beautiful flowers this morning when he came to pick me up for work," Jemma tells her friend. "It was rather sweet." She smiles over at her boyfriend.

"That is pretty sweet," Skye agree. "But anything special planned for later tonight?" she asks, looking at Fitz.

"What are you looking at me for?" he asks.

Skye shrugs. "I don't know. I just am."

"Well stop it," he says. "I'm not telling you what I planned."

"So you did plan something," Jemma says with a small smile at her boyfriend.

Fitz sighs and looks at his girlfriend. "Yes, I planned something. But I wanted it to be a surprise." He looks at Skye. "You get that look on your face and I just spill information without thinking first. Why is that?"

Skye smiles. "It's a gift. Ask my mom if you want to know. She has it too. Can't tell you how many times my dad has completely withered under her gaze."

"I feel so sorry for Grant," Fitz mumbles.

Skye waves him off. "Eh. He kinda likes it."

"Of course he would," Fitz replies.

Skye lets out a small laugh. "Anyways. Grant and I are probably going to celebrate tonight somehow, maybe dinner, or dancing, or something. I'm not sure what we're doing, but I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

Jemma smiles. "So am I. My plans, not yours," she clarifies.

"Yeah, I got that. I'd be a little concerned if you were excited about a romantic date for yourself and Grant. That would not be something I would like."

"No, I suppose not." Jemma takes a deep breath as she glances down at her watch. "Well, I think it is now time for us to get down to the lab, Fitz. Lord knows what kind of chaos will ensue if we don't get down there soon."

Fitz nods his head. "Right. We'll see you later, Skye."

"Yeah. See you at lunch."

"Of course, lunch." He gives her a small smile as he and Jemma stand from the table. "Bye." They begin making their way towards the door.

She smiles and gives them a small wave. "Bye." Once they're gone she takes a deep breath, stands from the table, and heads out to go to the IT Department.

* * *

Hearing the front door of her apartment open, Skye looks up from her laptop to see Grant walking through, one hand hidden behind his back.

She smiles up at him. "Hey. I got your note this morning. And your breakfast. It was very delicious, by the way, as all the food you make me usually is."

Grant smiles back. "I'm glad you liked it." He steps over to her and leans down to press a kiss to her lips. "And how was work?" he asks her, standing back up straight.

"Not bad," she tells him. "Sad I couldn't spend the entire day with you considering it's Valentine's Day, but it was a work day, so, you know."

Grant nods. "Yes." He takes a deep breath before pulling his hand out from behind his back. "Happy Valentine's Day, Skye," Grant says, carefully thrusting a large bouquet of daisies out to his girlfriend.

Skye smiles as she takes the flowers from him, holding them up to her nose to smell. She looks up at him. "These are so beautiful. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He shifts on his feet and rubs the back of his neck, sitting down on the coffee table in front of Skye. "I'm uh, I'm not really sure how to do this whole Valentine's Day thing while having an actual girlfriend, but I used to get Gramsy flowers for it when I was younger and she always seemed to love it. So I figured that would be a good place to start. And I know that daisies are your favorite flower so I thought it'd be better than a bouquet of roses. Those are pretty common on Valentine's Day and I wanted to get you something special and unique."

Skye reaches out and gently places her hand on his cheek. "It was definitely a great place to start. And the daisies were a perfect choice. I love them, thank you."

"And here's this too," he says, holding a heart shaped box out to her.

Skye takes the box from him and pops open the lid, smiling when she sees what's inside. She looks up at her boyfriend. "A box of chocolates? Very classic Valentine's Day gift, I love it. Thank you."

"Good, I'm glad."

"I think I need to go put these in some water," Skye says, standing up from the couch with the bouquet in her hand. "I'll be right back." She turns and makes her way into the kitchen.

When she's out of earshot, Grant lets out a breath and relaxes a little. "Okay," he says quietly to himself. "Things are going great so far. Just keep it up. You can do this. You know what you're doing...sort of."

"Where do you think I should put these?"

Grant turns his head to see Skye walking back into the room, carefully carrying the vase of daisies in her hand.

"Um, wherever you think they should go," he replies. "I don't really have much of a preference."

"I'm thinking somewhere with lots of sun," she says. "Maybe here in the living room?"

"That could be good," he says back. "Maybe on the windowsill or the coffee table," he suggests. "So it gets some sun. When the blinds are open the sun usually shines right down onto the coffee table."

"Yeah, you're right." She moves to the coffee table and sets the vase down on it, adjusting the flowers just a bit before taking a step back and smiling at them. "Perfect," she says. She turns towards Grant and walks up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you."

Grant smiles as he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "I love you too," he says back. He takes a deep breath. "Now, I made a dinner reservation for us at six thirty, so we still have a little bit of time to kill before we have to leave. What do you want to do until then?"

Skye smirks and pulls out of his embrace, grabbing his hand and pulling him up off the coffee table, slowly dragging him down the hallway towards her bedroom.

Grant just smiles and takes a few large steps forward, quickly scooping Skye up into his arms bridal style and pressing a long kiss to her lips as he carries her into her room.

Moving over to the bed, he gently tosses her onto the mattress before crawling up the bed and hovering above her, resting on his forearms on either side of her head. He teasingly ghosts his lips over hers before leaning down and kissing her once more, the two of them quickly getting lost within each other.

.

.

.

"Here we are," Grant says as he pulls Skye's car up to the front of a restaurant and shifts the gear into park before turning off the ignition.

"This is a really nice place," Skye comments.

Grant nods. "It is."

"Isn't this place usually completely packed, though? It's so hard to get a reservation here most of the time."

"Usually it is. But I managed to get us the entire restaurant for the night," he tells her with a smile.

"You did?"

He nods. "Yeah. And before you ask, I didn't threaten anyone this time around. The owner actually owes me a favor. Well, he doesn't really, but he feels like he does. I helped his son and daughter-in-law escape Joey's wrath a few years back so he was more than happy to do this for me, for us."

"Wow, okay."

"Do you want to go inside now?" he asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay. Stay there." He quickly unbuckles his seatbelt and opens his door, climbing out and closing the door behind him. He walks around the front of the car to the passenger side, takes a deep breath, and then reaches down to pull Skye's door open for her.

Skye smiles at the sweet gesture as she undoes her seatbelt and steps out of the car, letting Grant close the door after her.

"You look beautiful, by the way," Grant says as he takes her hand in his. "I don't know if I told you that yet tonight."

Skye smiles at him. "You told me earlier at my place before we left. But thank you. You don't look so bad yourself. A little surprised you're not wearing your leather jacket, though."

Grant frowns. "Did you want me to wear it? I can always go back and—"

"Grant, honey, relax. It's fine." She gives a small, soft smile. "I don't mind, really. I absolutely love the leather jacket on you, but this is a good look for you too," she tells him, tugging on one of the lapels of his suit coat.

Grant lets a relieved smile grow on his face. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. And you did a really good job picking out this dress for me too."

"I can't take all the credit," he says. "I had some help finding the right dress for you. I kind of knew what I wanted to get for you, but the woman at the store helped me find exactly the right one."

"Well I'm very impressed," she says. "Now come on, I'm starving."

Grant nods. "Right. Let's go." He laces their fingers together and then leads her up to the front doors of the restaurant.

"Oh wow," Skye says when she steps foot inside the restaurant, taking in all the décor surrounding her. The lighting in the room is dim, a few candles lit around the space with one candle sitting on the table in the corner. Said table is covered with a white table cloth, a place setting on both sides and a bottle of wine sitting in an ice bucket next to the table. Rose petals are scattered across the carpet near the table and in the pathway leading to the door.

"Do you like it?" Grant asks nervously, stepping in front of her.

Skye just gapes at the scene in front of her. "I uh..."

Grant's face falls. "You hate it. Damn it." His face hardens and screws up as he turns to the side. "It's too much, isn't?" he asks, glancing back at her. "I had a feeling it'd be too much for our first Valentine's Day and I didn't listen to it. But I...I just wanted it to be perfect, you know? It's our first Valentine's Day together and I just wanted it to be so nice for you. I'm such an idiot. I don't know how to do this. This whole...romance thing isn't me. I'm at a complete loss here. Why did I think I could actually—"

"Grant!"

Grant stops his ranting and turns to look at Skye. "What?" he asks her.

Skye takes a few steps towards him. "Calm down, Grant, please."

"But you hate it," he says. "I screwed up."

Skye shakes her head. "No, you didn't. And no, I don't."

"You didn't say anything," he says.

"You never even gave me the chance, babe. Before you interrupted me I was going to say that I love it."

Grant's eyes go wide. "You do? Really? You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

Skye nods her head. "Really, I'm not just saying it. It's so beautiful. And very thoughtful."

Grant lets out a breath. "That's such a relief to hear."

Skye smiles. "I'm sure it is. Now, shall we eat?"

Grant nods. "Yeah."

"Great." Skye takes his hand and pulls him behind her towards the table he had set up for them.

Grant drops Skye's hand and moves swiftly to pull out her chair for her, allowing her to sit down.

She smiles up at him. "Thank you."

He smiles back. "You're welcome." He drops a quick kiss to her cheek before moving around the table to sit down in his own chair.

Reaching out, he grabs the bottle of wine and uncorks it, pouring some into Skye's wineglass and then his own. He sets the bottle down on the table and then picks up his glass, holding it in the air. Skye does the same, clinking the edge of her glass against his.

"To us," she says.

Grant smiles and nods. "To us."

.

.

.

"Hey Grant?" Skye speaks up later that night when they're lying curled up in bed together.

"Yeah?" he responds.

"Why did you freak out like you did when you thought I hated what you did at the restaurant?"

Grant lets out a breath. "I guess...I guess I was just scared."

Skye turns her head to look at him. "You were scared? About what?"

Grant shrugs.

Skye tilts her head. "Come on, Grant. What were you so scared of?"

Grant sighs and shifts on the bed so Skye's lying on her back and he's lying on his side next to her, his head propped up in his hand. "I guess a part of me is always scared that you're going to leave."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. I've never had a good relationship that's lasted this long. I've had a lot of one-night stands, and a few flings, but never anything so substantial like this. You mean a lot to me, Skye, and I guess there's still a part of me that thinks you'll realize one day that I'm not a good guy because I'm in Hydra and you'll leave."

Skye gets a sad smile on her face. "That's never going to happen."

"It could," he says, turning his head away.

"Hey." She reaches out and places a hand on his cheek, getting him to look at her. "I promise you that I'm not going anywhere. I love you, Grant. And that isn't going to change anytime soon."

"You really mean that?" he asks.

She nods. "I really mean it. You mean a lot to me too. More than I ever thought you would or could."

Grant smiles. "That's really great to hear."

Skye smiles back at him. "I'm sure it is." She leans up and gives him a kiss before lying back down and rolling onto her side. "Goodnight."

Grant lies back down and curls his body around Skye's, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her close. He presses a kiss into her hair before settling against his pillow. "Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant ends up doing something he swore he'd never do and visits the one person he misses most in the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. Got an appointment this morning over at the community college about next steps and whatnot, so I figured I'd update before I have to go over there since I've got a little bit of time.
> 
> Also, I think this is gonna be 31 chapters, hence the change up in the chapter numbers area. Unless I come up with a new chapter somewhere in between, it's gonna be 31 chapters. 
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

Skye lets out a large yawn as she shuffles her way into the kitchen, running one hand through her long brown tresses, getting out some of the tangles that occurred sometime during the night as she slept. "Morning," she greets her boyfriend at the stove, rising up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," he says back, barely glancing at her.

Skye furrows her brows. "Everything okay?" she asks him when she notices the far off look in his eyes.

He turns his head slightly towards her, his brows furrowed. "What?"

"I asked you if everything's okay," she repeats.

He shakes his head a little. "Oh, uh, yeah. Everything's...everything's fine."

"Are you sure? Because it doesn't seem like it," she says. "You've been kind of distant with me the last couple of days. I'm getting worried about you."

He nods. "I'm sure. You really don't need to worry about me, Skye. I've just got a lot of stuff on my mind right now, that's all."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks him. "Maybe it'll help a little bit if you do."

He shakes his head. "No, I don't want to talk about it."

She nods slowly. "Okay. But if you do ever want to talk about whatever it is that's occupying your mind and taking up so much of your time, you know I'm always here to lend an ear for you. One of my jobs as your girlfriend is to make sure you're okay. So anytime you want to talk about anything, whatever happens to be on your mind at any time of day, I'm here for you if you just need someone to li—"

"Damn it, Skye!" he snaps, throwing the dish towel he was holding onto the counter and turning towards her. "I said I don't want to talk about it. What part of that did you not get? What part of what I said did you not understand?"

Skye jumps and flinches at his outburst, taking a small step back. "Sorry," she says quietly. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

Grant's jaw hardens. "It's fine. I just need to get out for a little while." He moves out of the kitchen and into the living room, grabbing his leather jacket off of the coat rack as he goes. He reaches for the door handle and pulls on it. "I'll see you later," he says over his shoulder before turning and stepping out of the door, closing it roughly behind him.

Skye just stares at the place he'd been occupying just a moment ago, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing in her mind as the tears start to well up in her eyes.

Moving out of the kitchen, she goes back into her bedroom and crawls onto her bed, sitting up against the headboard and pulling her legs up underneath of her.

Leaning over and reaching out to the nightstand, she grabs her phone and unlocks it, holding it in front of her as she goes into her text messages.

She finds the one between her and Grant, right at that top, and clicks on it. She taps inside the message box and begins typing.

**Please don't stay out too long. And come back. Please.**

.

.

.

Making her way out into the living room, phone clutched tightly in her hand, Skye falls down onto the couch, pulling her legs up underneath of her as she leans back. She looks down at her phone and unlocks it, going straight into her contact list. She scrolls until she finds the name that she wants, tapping on it and holding the device up to her ear.

It rings twice before she hears the soft voice come through the speaker.

" _Hello?"_

"Jemma, hey," Skye says into the phone, feeling the tears building up in her eyes again.

" _Skye? What's wrong?"_

"Why would you think something's wrong? Does something have to be wrong for me to call up my best friend so I can talk to her?"

" _No, I suppose not. But you don't sound like your usual happy and chipper self. What's going on?"_

"Grant's gone," she says, fighting back the tears.

" _What? Did you two…?"_

Skye shakes her head. "No, we didn't break up." She swallows thickly. "Something happened this morning and he just left. He didn't say where he was going or how long he'd be gone. He just left."

" _Well what exactly happened this morning?"_ Jemma asks.

"He uh, he was looking a little down this morning when I came into the kitchen. He had this blank look on his face and when I asked him what was wrong he just said that he had a lot on his mind. But he's been kind of distant the last few days so I had a feeling something was up."

" _And then what?"_

"I told him that if he ever wanted to talk about it I'm here for him. And then he just sort of…snapped."

" _Wow."_

Skye nods. "Yeah. I mean, he's never acted like that before. Well, there was Valentine's Day when he got upset because he didn't think I liked what he did at the restaurant, but his anger wasn't directed at me then. He's never once snapped at me before, never. I just…I don't know what to do, Jemma."

" _And you don't know where he is?"_

Skye shakes her head. "No, I don't. He left this morning and I haven't heard from him since, it's been hours, Jemma. He won't answer any of my texts or phone calls."

_"Do you think he's okay?"_

Skye sighs. "I honestly don't know. I didn't mean to make him upset, I just wanted him to know that he can talk to me about anything."

_"And I'm sure he knows that. Maybe whatever it is that's bothering him is difficult for him to talk about."_

"Yeah, maybe. I'm just really worried about him, Jemma."

" _And that's perfectly okay. You just need to be patient as well, alright? I'm sure he'll come around soon. I have to go now, but like I said, just be patient. Do you think you can do that?"_

Skye nods her head. "Yeah, I think so."

" _Good. I'll talk to you later, then."_

"Yeah, bye."

Pulling the phone down from her ear, she ends the call and drops her phone beside her onto the couch, running a hand down her face as she lets out a deep sigh.

* * *

Making his way through the open gates of the local cemetery, Grant clutches the bouquet of red roses tightly in one hand, using the other hand to tug the collar of his leather jacket closer around his neck.

He moves down the rows of headstones, not needing to look at the names on any of them, already knowing exactly where he needs to go, it's the same place he goes every year on this same day.

Once he reaches the specific headstone, he stops in front of it and stares at the name engraved on it for a few moments, just as he does every time he visits.

"Hey, Gramsy," Grant finally speaks up quietly, kneeling down in front of the medium-sized headstone. He reaches out and sets the small bouquet of flowers in front of it, brushing some dead leaves off the top of the stone.  
He pulls his hand back and takes a deep breath. "I miss you. But I guess that's not really anything new. I'm always going to miss you. I wish you were still here. Especially now. Because uh, I've met someone. Her name is Skye, and she's great, Gramsy, absolutely amazing. I think you really would have liked her.

"We met last summer after she moved here. She's actually the first person I've met that hasn't been scared of me or Hydra. She even willingly met Joey, which I was surprised about. She's tougher than she looks. You both have that in common." He chuckles.

"We've been together for almost a year now," he continues. "I really love her, Gramsy. And she loves me too. I'm starting to think that I could actually have a future with her, the thought of...marriage has even crossed my mind a few times recently. And that's a thought I've never had before. Ever. I've never thought about the possibility of getting married until after I met Skye."

"I just, there's something about her, Gramsy. She's special. She really, trulycares about me. And I know that's all you wanted for me. Someone to care for me like you did. And I really believe she's that person.

He shifts on his feet. "And uh, there's another thought I've started having ever since I met Skye." He takes a deep breath. "I'm thinking about leaving Hydra. For good. I don't...I don't know when I will, but it's been a constant thought in my head for a while now. I just, I really love Skye and I don't want Hydra coming after either of us, but I can't stay in Hydra and stay with Skye. It just wouldn't feel right. Hydra's all I've known growing up, but Skye...she's my life now. I really don't know what I'd do without her. I know you always wanted me to get away from that lifestyle. And I think that with Skye I can. I just...I have to find the right moment, you know?

"And I think it'd be good to try and get Andrew out too. We both know he won't survive long there without me. The only reason he does is because of me, because I'm the only one who'll even _think_ about challenging Joey. He's the only family I have left that I still care about. I don't want anything to happen to him either."

Grant pauses for a moment before letting out a sigh and looks down at the grass. "I yelled at Skye this morning," he says to the stone. "And that's something I've never done before. Not like how I did today. And it wasn't even her fault either. I was just…feeling down about you I guess, and I took it out on her when all she wanted to do was help me. I feel awful about it. When I started dating her I told myself that I was never going to take out my anger or frustrations on her, I didn't want to be like that. And I know if you were here you'd probably just smack me upside the head and tell me to go to her and talk about it, to work things out. And I promise I will. I just…I need to get my head straight first. Of course, if you _were_ here then I wouldn't have snapped at Skye this morning because there wouldn't have even been a reason for it to happen."

He lets out a deep sigh, looking down at the grass before looking back at the stone. "I miss you so much, Gramsy."

* * *

Stepping through the front door of Skye's apartment, Grant tosses his keys into the bowl beside the door and shrugs off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack.

"Skye?" he calls through the apartment. "Skye," he says again when he gets no response. "Are you here?"

"Bedroom."

Taking a deep breath, he moves further into the apartment, going down the hallway towards Skye's bedroom.

Stopping when he reaches the room, he pushes the door open all the way to find Skye sitting up on the bed, her laptop open in her lap.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey."

"Can we talk?" he asks her hesitantly.

Skye shrugs. "Depends. Are you going to yell at me again?"

Grant sighs and moves towards the bed, sitting down on the edge and turning to face Skye. "I'm so sorry about that, I really am. I didn't mean to snap at you. I told myself from the beginning, when we decided to date, that I wasn't ever going to speak to you like that. I feel horrible that I broke that promise to myself."

Skye nods once. "Good."

Grant lets a small smile grace his lips. "Look, I really appreciate what you said earlier, about being here to listen if I ever want to talk about things. And I'm sorry I got upset the way that I did. It's just…today's a hard day for me."

"How come?" she asks him, closing the lid of her laptop and setting it off to the side.

"Today's the anniversary of Gramsy's…you know."

Skye nods. "I see."

"Yeah. And no one else besides Andy really cares, but I don't like to burden him with all my stuff so I've never really had someone to talk to about this. That's why I snapped at you this morning. I guess I'm still getting used to someone willingly being there for me all the time."

"It's okay," she tells him. "I mean, it's not okay that you yelled at me, but I should have realized. I shouldn't have pushed you further."

"You didn't know," he says back. "I'm not mad at you about that, you were just trying to help. When I snapped at you I felt really bad, and I knew if I didn't leave I would have probably snapped at you again. Or something worse, I don't know. But I didn't want to risk it. I don't usually go until later in the day, but after what happened this morning I really needed to."

"So when you left this morning…"

Grant nods. "I went to go see her. Just like I do every year. I go there and put flowers on her grave and just talk to her for a while, tell her what's going on in my life. I mean, I don't know if she can even hear me, but it just feels right."

Skye places a hand on his knee in comfort. "Hey, I think it's really sweet that you do that. And maybe one day you'll let me go with you and I can meet her."

"You really want to?" he asks.

Skye nods her head. "Mm-hmm. She was an important person in your life, Grant. Even if she's not here anymore, she's still very important and I want the chance to introduce myself. If you'll let me, that is."

Grant smiles at her. "I think I'd really like that."

Skye smiles back and leans forward to press her lips softly to his, bringing her hand from his knee to rest on his cheek. "I love you," she says against his lips.

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	20. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's somebody's birthday :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! It's still Sunday where I'm at but I'm feeling generous so I thought I'd update this lovely story for you all.
> 
> Enjoy!

Rolling over onto his side, Grant smiles as he wraps an arm around Skye's waist and slides his body closer to hers, lifting up just enough to allow himself to pepper small kisses along her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Skye mumbles, turning her head towards him, her eyes still closed. "It's still early. Sleep."  
Grant smiles and pushes himself up onto his elbow, leaning over Skye. "A little birdie told me that today, at exactly 6:34 am, is your birthday. So Happy Birthday, gorgeous."

Skye furrows her brows together in thought as she flips onto her back completely. "What? Who would..." she trails off as the realization dawns on her. "Have you been talking to my parents?"

Grant nods. "Your mother, to be more specific. I'm still trying to win over your dad, though. He seems pretty convinced that I'm going to kill you or seriously maim you in the middle of the night when your guard's down."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He furrows his brows. "About your dad thinking I'm a killer? I thought you already knew that."

Skye rolls her eyes. "No, not that. I meant about talking with my mom."

He nods. "Right. Well I uh, I'm not sure why I never told you, I guess I just never thought to mention it."

"And how long have you guys been talking?"

"Well, I guess we've been texting since just a little while after they were here last year. Sometimes she'll text me and ask how you are because you have a really bad habit of not answering her texts right away. And sometimes I'll text her and ask for book recommendations because she's read a lot of really good ones. Every once in a while I'll recommend something too."

Skye's eyes go wide. "Wait, you're actually _texting_ her?"

Grant shrugs. "Well, yeah. How else would I talk to her?"

"On the phone, maybe."

"We do that sometimes too," he tells her.

"Unbelievable," Skye says. "My boyfriend is getting all buddy-buddy with my mother. It's every girl's worst nightmare coming to life."

"Well would you rather have her hate my guts for the rest of all time?" he asks.

Skye sighs. "No. Sorry. It's just a little weird to think about you guys being friends, that's all."

"It's fine, I get it." He drops a kiss to her lips. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner that I've been texting with your mother."

"Thank you," she says. "So when did she tell you that today's my birthday?"

"A few weeks ago," he replies, letting out a breath as he shifts on the bed again so he's lying on his stomach with one arm draped across Skye's waist, drawing random shapes on her skin. "I don't remember exactly what we were talking about at the time, but it came up at some point and she told me that today is your birthday. And that you were a pretty big baby when you were born, too," he says with a grin.

Skye groans and covers her face with her hands. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe she actually told you that."

Grant chuckles. "I was pretty amused when she told me. I never would have guessed that you were a big baby."

"You learn something new every day," she says.

He nods. "Right you are." He takes a deep breath. "So, today is your day, what do you want to do first?"

Skye grins at him, reaching down to grab his face in her hands and pull him up the bed to ghost her lips over his. "Oh, I have plenty ideas of what I want to do today."

Grant smiles back, closing the space between their lips and moving so his body is hovering just above hers. "I am not going to oppose that," he says against her lips.

"That's good," Skye says. She runs her fingers down his bare back, stopping at the hem of his boxer shorts, and smiles up at him.

Grant smiles and dips his head to press hot kisses to the crook of her neck.

Skye smiles and cradles the back of his head in her hand, tilting her own head to the side to give him more access to her smooth skin. She lets out a content sigh as her eyelids slowly flutter closed.

.

.

.

"I don't want to move," Skye mumbles against Grant's chest and then lets out a content sigh.

"You don't?" Grant asks, lazily running the tips of his fingers up and down her arm.

Skye shakes her head. "Mm-mm. I'm way too comfortable right now like this. And kind of exhausted too. You really wore me out, babe. If that's what birthday sex is going to be like then I can't wait for my next birthday to roll around."

Grant chuckles. "Well I'll be sure to amp things up next year for you. Can't have your birthday become something that's boring and predictable."

"No we cannot," Skye replies with a small smile. She shifts on the bed and rests her arms on his chest to look at him. "I love you."

Grant smiles and reaches up to tuck a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. "I love you too." He lifts his head off of the pillow to give her a kiss. "What else do you want to do today?" he asks her when he drops his head back to the pillow.

Skye shrugs. "I don't know. I kind of just want to stay in today. Maybe watch some movies or something, order in for dinner."

"Or I could always cook for you for every meal today, seeing as how it _is_ your birthday."

Skye nods. "That is also a possibility. But I think the real thing we need to worry about right now is when I'm getting my present. Because I kind of want it right now."

"Your present?"

"Mm-hmm. It's my birthday; I know you got me a present."

"You do seem to be pretty confident in that fact."

"Oh I am."

"You really want your present right now?" he asks her. She nods. "You don't want to wait until later? Like after we have breakfast?"

Skye shakes her head. "Nope."

Grant chuckles. "Alright. Just give me a minute to go to the bathroom and then you can have your present."

"Seriously?" Skye asks as she rolls over onto her back so Grant can get up from the bed.

"Seriously," he replies, slipping his boxers on and standing up from the bed. He looks over his shoulder at Skye as he makes his way out of the room. "I'll be right back."

Skye watches as Grant leaves the room and then lets out a deep sigh before sitting up. She grabs her sports bra off of the floor and pulls it on, followed by her underwear and then a pair of sleep shorts.

Hearing her phone go off from its place on top of her nightstand, she glances over at the device to see her mother's name and photo showing on the lock screen.

Picking her phone up, she hits the answer call button and holds the device up to her ear.

"Hi, mom."

_"Hi, sweetheart. Happy birthday."_

Skye smiles. "Thanks, mom."

_"You're welcome. I wasn't sure if you'd be up yet because I know how you like to sleep in, but I figured I'd call anyways just to see."_

"It's fine, mom. I was already awake. Grant woke me up this morning at the exact time of my birth. Thank you for that, by the way."

_"So how's your birthday going so far?"_

"Off to a pretty good start, actually," Skye tells her mother, rolling her eyes slightly at the obvious change of subject. "We're probably just going to laze around here for the whole day, and Grant's going to cook the both of us some dinner tonight."

_"That sounds nice."_

"Yeah, it does. But hey, something kind of funny came up earlier when Grant and I were talking. And don't think I didn't notice you completely glossing over that little hint I dropped about it."

_"Really? And what would that be?"_

"Oh, just the fact that you two have been secretly texting and talking on the phone for weeks without even thinking about telling me."

_"Oh, Skye, it's not that big of a deal."_

"Yes it is, mom. Do you know how weird it is for my mother to be texting my boyfriend like they're best friends? Especially without my knowledge? It's beyond weird."

_"Well I'm very sorry you feel that way."_

"Alright, babe, I'm back. So now we can—who's on the phone?"

Skye looks up behind her and presses her phone against her chest. "Hey. It's just my mom."

Grant smiles. "Oh, great." He sits down next to her and holds his hand out. "Give me the phone."

"What?"

"Give me the phone," he repeats. "I want to talk to her."

"Grant..."

"I'll be quick, I promise. I just want to say hello."

Skye sighs. "Fine." She hands the phone over to him and narrows her eyes. "Don't take too long."

He leans forward and gives her a quick kiss as he takes the phone from her. "I promise." He leans back and smiles, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hey, Melinda."

_"Grant, hello. How are you?"_

"I'm doing alright. Just spending the day with the most beautiful birthday girl on the planet." He smiles over at his girlfriend.

Skye just rolls her eyes and shakes her head, lying back on the bed.

 _"Ah, I see. Well, have you given her present to her yet?"_ she asks him.

"I was actually just about to."

_"You'll have to tell me what she thinks about it. Though I'm sure she'll love it."_

"I'll be sure to let you know her thoughts."

_"Great. I'll talk to you later."_

"Yeah, bye."

_"Goodbye."_

Pulling the phone down from his ear, he hits the end button and sets the phone in his lap, looking over at his girlfriend.

"I'm off the phone now," he tells her.

"So I hear," she replies. She pulls herself up into a seated position. "You're really done?"

He nods. "Yes, I am. Here is your phone." He holds the phone out to her.

"Thank you." She takes the phone from him and sets it back on the nightstand.

"You're welcome." He takes a deep breath. "So, are you ready for your birthday present?" Grant asks his girlfriend.

Skye grins. "Of course I am."

"Alright. Just so you know, this is a two part gift."

Skye smiles. "Ooh, I'm even more excited now."

Grant smiles back. He stands up and moves over to the nightstand sitting next to the bed, leaning down slightly to grab something out of the drawer.

"Wait, my present's been in there this whole time?" Skye asks him.

"Yeah. I figured you wouldn't look in there because you literally never use that drawer for anything."

She blinks. "Wow. That was actually a pretty smart move."

"I know," Grant says with a smile. "So, do you want your present?"

Skye nods eagerly and smiles. "Yes please."

"Okay. Here's the first part." He holds a small plush grey elephant out to Skye.

Skye immediately takes the small elephant and holds it in her hands, a smile on her face. "Aww, it's so adorable. Thank you." She smiles up at him.

"You're welcome. Now here's the second part." He holds a medium sized Manila envelope out to her.

Skye takes the envelope from him and he waits with bated breath for her to open it.

Pulling open the seal on the top, Skye reaches inside and slides out a thin sheet of paper, holding it in front of her.

Her brows furrow together as she reads aloud, "Certificate of Adoption, for Skye Coulson as a part of the World Wildlife Fund, Elephant Conservation."

"Do you like it?" Grant asks her.

Skye looks up at him. "Did you get me an elephant?"

"A _baby_ elephant," he corrects her.

Her eyes go wide. "You got me a baby elephant?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. But you missed these that were also inside the envelope." He takes the envelope from her and reaches inside, pulling out two more small cards. "One's a picture of your elephant, and the other one is an info card about your elephant."

"Oh my goodness. It's so stinking cute. That's my elephant. You _actually_ got me an elephant."

Grant smiles. "Yeah. This guy I know told me about this Adopt an Elephant program in Africa through the World Wildlife Fund that he's a part of. So because you love elephants so much, I thought I'd make it so you have now adopted an elephant."

"Wow. This is absolutely amazing. I can't believe that you did this. This is probably the best gift I've ever gotten from anyone, hands down. Good luck topping this one next year, babe."

"I've definitely got my work cut out for me," he agrees. "But I'm sure I can do a pretty good job at finding the perfect gift for you."

"I'm going to hold you to that," she tells him.

He chuckles. "I'm sure you will." He leans forward to give her a kiss before pulling back and taking a deep breath. "So, breakfast?"

Skye nods. "Yes please. Pancakes?"

Grant smiles. "You got it." He stands from the bed and makes his way back out of the bedroom, this time to go out into the kitchen.

Skye watches him go for a moment before leaning over to set her certificate and info cards on the nightstand. Grabbing her phone, she carries it and her plush elephant with her out into the kitchen to join her boyfriend.

* * *

Her cell phone going off pulls Skye's and Grant's attention away from the movie they're currently watching in the living room.

Skye reaches over to the end table and picks up the device, looking at the screen. "It's Jemma," she tells her boyfriend. "Can you pause the movie for just a minute?"

Grant sighs. "Yeah." He lifts the remote and hits the pause button.

Skye smiles. "Thank you." She hits the answer call button and holds the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

_"Happy Birthday!"_

Skye smiles and laughs quietly. "Thanks, Jemma."

_"I know it's already more than halfway through the day but I was very busy this morning and didn't get the chance to call you until just now and a text would have seemed so impersonal."_

Skye smiles into the phone. "It's fine, Jemma, really. I appreciate you calling me, though. It's very sweet."

_"I'm glad you think so. So how's your birthday been so far?"_

"Pretty amazing. I've been spending the entire day with Grant. He got me the greatest gift I have ever received from anyone for any birthday or Christmas."

_"What is it?"_

"A baby elephant."

_"I'm sorry, a what?"_

"A baby elephant," she repeats. "Grant got me a baby elephant through one of those adoption programs that the World Wildlife Fund does."

 _"Oh that's so sweet,"_ Jemma says.

"It really is," Skye says back with a smile.

" _So what are the two of you up to now?"_ Jemma asks.

"Well, we're actually in the middle of a movie but I made Grant pause it when I saw it was you calling."

" _Oh dear. I am so sorry for interrupting your movie."_

Skye smiles. "It's fine, Jemma."

" _Right. Well, don't let me keep you from your movie any longer. I'll see you at work and we can talk more."_

"Yes we will. Bye."

" _Goodbye."_

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye hits the end call button and sets her phone back down on the end table.

"What did Jemma want?" Grant asks her.

Skye leans back into his side and looks up at him. "She just wanted to wish me a happy birthday."

"Well that's very nice of her."

Skye nods her head. "Yes it is. I love getting phone calls from people wishing me a happy birthday."

"That definitely sounds like something to enjoy," he says. "Can we get back to the movie now?"

Skye rolls her eyes. "Yes, sorry." She snuggles back into his side and lets out a content sigh. "You can play it again now."

"Thank you." He lifts the remote again and hits the play button, leaning further back into the couch and wrapping his arm a little tighter around Skye to hold her close.

* * *

"I named the elephant," Skye tells Grant as they lie in bed that night.

"What?" he replies.

Skye turns slightly to look at him. "I named the elephant," she repeats. "Not the real one because it already has a name. I named the plush one that you gave me."

"Okay. And what did you name it?"

She smiles. "Grant."

"You didn't."

She lets out a small laugh. "No, I didn't. But that look on your face was pretty funny so it was totally worth it."

"Then what did you name it?"

"Neville."

Grant furrows his brows for a moment before looking at his girlfriend. "As in Longbottom? From _Harry Potter_?"

Skye grins and nods. "Mm-hmm. He's my favorite and obviously elephants are my favorite so it just made perfect sense."

"Good to know," he replies. He shifts slightly on the bed so he's resting on one elbow. "So did you have a good birthday, then?" he asks her.

She turns all the way onto her back and smiles up at him. "Yeah, I really did."

"Well I'm glad," he says with a smile.

"Me too." She leans up to give him a kiss and then lies back down. "Hey, Grant?" she speaks up after a quiet moment, Grant now lying on his side.

"Yeah?" he responds.

She turns on her side to face him. "How come I don't know when your birthday is?"

"What?"

"How come I don't know when your birthday is?" Skye repeats. "You know mine but I don't know yours."

Grant shifts. "Oh, um, I don't know. Guess it just never really came up."

"Well when is your birthday?"

"January 7," he tells her.

Skye sits up with wide eyes. "We missed your birthday?!" She lightly punches him in the shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Grant sits up and shrugs. "Sorry. My birthday was never that big of a deal growing up. I guess I just didn't think about bringing it up because no one besides Gramsy has ever really cared about it before."

"Well next year we're going to celebrate it," she tells him. "The day of your birth deserves to be celebrated because without you in this world I don't think I'd be nearly as happy as I am right now."

He smiles up at her. "Same goes for you. But seriously, you don't have to do a whole lot to celebrate my birthday. I honestly don't care that much about it."

"You don't?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "No, I don't. Like I said, I've never done much to celebrate it in the past, so it's not that big of a deal if we don't celebrate it next year."

"But it's your birthday," she says.

"I know it is." He reaches out and grabs her hand, lacing their fingers together. "And as long as I get to spend my birthday with you, without any fuss or over the top celebration, I will be perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?"

He nods. "One hundred percent."

"Okay. I guess we don't have to celebrate your birthday."

He gives her a small smile. "Thank you."

"Can I at least say happy birthday to you on your actual birthday?"

Grant laughs quietly and nods. "Yes, you can do that."

Skye smiles. "Good. Because I was going to anyways." She gives him a peck on the cheek before lying back down and breathing in deeply, closing her eyes as she gets comfortable again.

Grant just smiles and shakes his head before lying down behind her, reaching one arm out to wrap around her waist and pull her close. Closing his eyes, he breathes in deeply and relaxes into the mattress, letting sleep overtake him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you all think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	21. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year.... :) <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! I think this one is fairly cute.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Happy Anniversary."

Grant slowly opens his eyes to see Skye hovering above him with a smile on her lips, her face just mere inches away from his.

He smiles back. "Happy Anniversary, beautiful." He lifts his head and gives her a quick kiss. "I can't believe we've been together for an entire year."

She lets out a content sigh, resting her arms on his chest and placing her chin atop them. "It _is_ pretty amazing. I love you."

"I love you too. But part of me still can't believe you're actually with me."

"Same goes for me," she tells him.

He furrows his brows. "Really?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. I mean, I know you love me and everything, but I guess there's still a small part of me that thinks you're just going to up and leave me one day because of Hydra."

"I can promise you that that isn't going to happen," he says. "Not if I can help it."

She smiles. "Good. Because I don't plan on letting you go either."

He smiles back. "I'm glad to hear it." He takes a deep breath and reaches out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "So, what should we do today?"

Skye smiles and leans forward, pressing her lips to his. "I have a few ideas," she says against his lips, uncrossing her arms to run her hands down his body.

Grant shivers at the feeling. He pulls back slightly. "Believe me when I say I would love nothing more than to just spend all day doing that, because I most definitely would. But I meant what do you want to do to celebrate our anniversary. Like, as in the sense of going out or something."

Skye sighs. "I don't know. I am kind of hungry right now, though."

Grant nods. "Okay. Breakfast first. Then we can figure out what to do for the rest of our anniversary."

Skye smiles. "Sounds like a plan. You go get breakfast started; I'm going to go use the bathroom."

Grant smiles and gives her a quick kiss. "You got it." He pulls back and climbs out of the bed, making his way out of the bedroom.

Taking a deep breath, Skye tosses the blanket off of her body and swings her legs around to the edge of the bed, sitting up and letting out a yawn.

Instantly feeling lightheaded, Skye brings a hand up to her head and closes her eyes tightly. "Whoa. Okay. Don't get up too fast next time."

After a moment, when her head isn't spinning anymore, Skye stands up from the bed and makes her way into the bathroom.

Out in the kitchen, Grant moves swiftly and fluidly around the room, getting out everything he needs in order to make pancakes for breakfast.

He flips on the radio to add some soft background noise as he stands at the stove cooking food for the both of them.

"Mm, I love watching you cook shirtless."

Grant looks over his shoulder to see Skye standing in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning up against the frame. He smiles at her. "Hey."

"Hey," she says back, pushing off of the doorway and moving towards him. She steps up behind him and wraps her arms around his torso, pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade before resting her cheek against his back. She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, letting out a content sigh.

"You okay?" Grant asks her as he continues to cook.

She nods against him. "Mm-hmm. Just got a little lightheaded when I sat up in bed. It mostly went away, but I think it may be turning into a small headache."

"Do you need to sit down?"

"No, I'm good right here. You're helping."

Grant chuckles. "Alright. Just let me know if it gets worse, okay?"

"I will. Promise."

"Good." He turns back to the stove and takes a deep breath. "Are you ready for some anniversary pancakes?" he asks her. "I made them shaped like hearts because I love you."

"Wait, seriously?" Skye asks as she stands on her toes and peers around her boyfriend's muscular frame to look inside the frying pan. "Wow, you actually did. You are being so extremely cheesy right now. When I first met you I never thought you could be so cheesy."

"I guess you just bring it out in me," he says with a smile before dropping a quick kiss to her lips.

"How come you didn't make these for me for Valentine's Day?" she asks him when he pulls away. "It definitely would have been more suitable for the holiday."

Grant looks at her. "Do you want the heart shaped pancakes or not?"

She smiles up at him. "Yes please."

"Then go sit down at the table," he tells her. "The pancakes are almost done. I'll bring them to you when they are."

"Mm-kay."

Skye reluctantly pulls away from Grant and moves over to the table, sitting down in one of the chairs and resting her forearms on the table.

"And here's your breakfast," Grant says a minute later, setting a plate of pancakes down on the table in front of Skye.

"They look so good," Skye says, picking up her fork. She cuts off a few pieces and shoves them into her mouth. "Mm, and they taste great. Just as great as they always do."

"I'm glad you think so. I put a little something extra in the batter this time around."

"Alcohol?" Skye asks with a small smile.

Grant chuckles. "No. Cinnamon."

"Oh. Cinnamon's good, I guess. Alcohol would've been good too, though."

"Depends on the type," he tells her, moving back to the stove.

"Hey, have you ever made any other shapes besides circles or hearts with pancakes?" she asks him as she takes another bite.

"Um, no, I haven't. Why?"

Skye shrugs. "I was just wondering. I think it'd be kind of fun to have you make different shaped pancakes for different holidays."

Grant thinks for a minute before slowly nodding his head. "Yeah, that could be pretty interesting." He looks over at her. "Skye, would you like me to make different shaped pancakes for different holidays?" he asks her.

She smiles and nods. "Mm-hmm."

"I'll do my best," he says.

"As long as you try," she says back with a small smile.

* * *

"You know, there's a small part of me that says we shouldn't be here," Grant tells Skye as they make their way across the large field of grass, their blanket in one of his hands.

"Why's that?" Skye asks, swinging their entwined hands between them.

"It's our anniversary," he tells her. "We should be out doing something special?"

Skye stops and raises an eyebrow at him. "This isn't special? This is what we did last year which just so happens to be the whole reason why there's an anniversary to celebrate in the first place."

Grant nods. "I know that."

"Good. Now let's find ourselves a good spot to sit and watch the show."

"Whatever you say, dear," he replies, following behind her as she drags him through the crowd of people.

Skye greets some of her fellow employees with friendly smiles as she passes by them. "Ooh, this is a good place right here," she says after a minute of walking.

"Looks pretty good to me," Grant says, starting to spread out their blanket on the grass. "And we'll have a good view of the fireworks from here?" he asks her.

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. This is the same exact spot we sat last year."

Grant turns to her. "It is?"

Skye nods again. "Yeah."

"How could you possibly know that?" he asks.

She smiles up at him. "I just do." She slips her feet out of her shoes and then sits down on the blanket, patting the space next to her for Grant to sit as she pulls her legs up underneath of her.

Grant toes his own shoes off before sitting cross legged next to Skye, reaching out to wrap an around her waist and hold her close. "How long do you think until the food is ready?" Grant asks her.

"Not sure. Hopefully not too much longer. I'm getting hungry."

"Hello. Mind if we join you?"

Looking up, Skye and Grant smile when they see Jemma and Fitz standing in front of them, their own blanket hanging in Jemma's arms.

"Hey guys," Skye says.

"Hello," Jemma repeats. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

"No, of course not," Skye tells them, gesturing to the open spaces of grass. "Go right ahead."

"Excellent." Jemma moves forward and spreads the blanket out on the grass before removing her shoes and sitting down on it. Fitz removes his own shoes and then sits down next to her on the blanket. "How are you two enjoying the holiday thus far?" Jemma asks, turning her head to look at Skye and Grant.

"It's been a pretty good day so far," Skye says. "Though, this day is a bit more special to us than it is for most everyone else."

Fitz furrows his brows. "How's that?"

Skye smiles over at her boyfriend and grabs his hand, interlacing their fingers. "Because it was on this day a year ago that Grant and I decided to try being a couple. It has been one year since our first date."

"It's your anniversary," Jemma says. "Oh, I am so sorry."

Skye looks back at her friend. "Sorry for what?"

"It's your anniversary and we're over here bothering you."

Skye shakes her head. "You're not bothering us."

"You really aren't," Grant assures the Brit. "We kind of like your company and having you around."

"Same for us about you," Fitz says.

"This must be where the real party is at if all four of you are over here."

All four adults look up to see Trip and Raina approaching, Trip carrying a blanket for the two of them.

"Hey you two," Skye greets them. "Happy Fourth."

Trip smiles and nods. "Happy Fourth to you too."

"And happy anniversary," Jemma pipes up.

"What?" Trip asks.

"It's our anniversary," Skye says, gesturing to Grant. "Last year on the Fourth was our first date and the night we became an official couple."

Trip nods. "Ah. Well congrats."

Skye smiles. "Thanks. We're pretty happy." She looks over at Grant and gives him a quick kiss.

"Even though it's your anniversary, do you mind if we join you for the fireworks?" Trip asks.

"Not at all," Grant says. "The more the merrier."

"Great." Trip smiles as he steps forward to spread out the blanket for him and Raina next to Fitz and Jemma's. The two of them sit down next to each other on the blanket, making themselves comfortable. "So are you two having a good anniversary, then?" Trip asks once he and Raina are settled on their blanket.

Skye nods. "Yeah, it's been pretty good so far."

"And what did you get each other?" he asks.

Skye and Grant stay quiet.

Jemma gasps. "You didn't get each other any gifts?" she asks.

Skye shakes her head. "No, we didn't. We both decided not to get each other gifts." She smiles over at her boyfriend. "We don't need to give each other presents to know how much we love each other." She looks back at her friends. "Besides, Grant already got me two amazing gifts, one for Christmas and one for my birthday, so I'm letting him off the hook for this one." She laughs quietly.

"So then what about next year?" Trip asks. "Are you gonna get each other gifts for your anniversary next year?"

"We'll see," Skye says. "I think we just need to focus on the here and now, and making sure we make the most of all our time together." She leans forward and presses her lips to his in a lingering kiss.

.

.

.

Turning his head away from the fireworks going off above him, Grant leans his head down so his mouth is near Skye's ear. "Thank you," he says simply in a soft voice.

Skye turns her head to look up at him with furrowed brows. "For what?"

"Being with me this past year," he tells her, reaching up to tuck a fallen piece of hair behind her ear. "Despite what everyone has said and certain things that have happened since we've been together, you're still with me."

She gives him a small smile. "Grant, me being with you is nothing that you need to thank me for. I'm with you because I love you."

He nods. "I know. But I still feel like I need to thank you. I just...this past year has been the best year of my life. Hands down, no contest."

Skye smiles up at him. "Same for me. I love you so much, Grant Ward."

"I love you so much too, Skye Coulson. So damn much." He leans forward and sears his lips to hers, cradling the back of her head in his hand as the fireworks continue to go off in the darkness above them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below.
> 
> These adorable dorks have now been together for an entire year. Who knows what the future holds for them? Oh, wait, I know. :)
> 
> We're slowly encroaching on the end of this adventure, you guys. There's nine more chapters after this and then the epilogue. So hang in there.
> 
> Also, who saw the stills released for the next episode of AoS? It's basically Skyeward as a power couple which is all I've ever wanted, but it's in a fake world so I'm also super sad about it. But it's also gonna be nice to see those beautiful humans working together again. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	22. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one was pretty fun to write. You'll see why in just a minute. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

"Grant, hey. You alright, man?"

Grant turns his head to see Andrew making his way towards him through the bar downstairs at Hydra's place. He swallows his drink and nods. "Yeah, Andrew, I'm fine."

"Really? Because you don't look like you're doing too fine right now. To be completely honest, you've been kind of out of it lately."

"I promise you I'm fine, Andrew. Skye's just been a little under the weather recently."

Andrew pulls himself up onto the stool next to his brother. "Is she okay?"

Grant shakes his head. "I don't know. She told me not to worry about her, assured me that she'll be fine. But uh, but she hasn't let me over to see her since she got sick."

"I'm sorry, man. How long has she been sick?"

Grant sighs. "Few days. She's just been a little lightheaded, I guess. And she's thrown up a few times. She thinks it's food poisoning, that she had a bad reaction to something we had a little while back."

"Well I hope she feels better soon."

"Me too," Grant says, bringing his drink up to his lips. He sets his glass down on the counter and looks over at Andrew. "So, what exactly brought you down here? You're not usually one to drink."

Andrew shrugs. "Just needed to get away for a little while. Joey's getting pretty heated again upstairs."

"When isn't he heated?" Grant asks.

Andrew lets out a small laugh. "Yeah." He takes a deep breath. "Want me to stay and keep you company?"

Grant shrugs. "If you really want to. Don't know how great of company I'll be right now, though."

Andrew nods. "Right. So uh, I guess I'll just see you later, then?"

Grant nods back. "Yeah, see you."

Andrew slides off of the stool and makes his way out of the room, leaving Grant alone with his drink.

Letting out a sigh, Grant lifts his glass to his lips and takes a long sip, listening to the soccer game being broadcast over the television hanging on the wall above him.

His phone going off next to him pulls his thoughts to it. He looks down at his phone, smiling a little when he sees Skye's name and smiling face showing on the lock screen.

Turning down the volume on the TV, he picks up his phone and hits the answer button, holding it up to his ear.

He smiles into the receiver. "Hey there, gorgeous."

_"Grant, hey. Can you come over?"_

"Yeah, sure. What for?"

_"I just really need to talk to you and I think it'll be better to do this in person rather than over the phone."_

"Is everything okay?" he asks, leaning back slightly in his chair.

_"Yeah. Could you just come over, please?"_

"Of course. I'll be right over."

_"Great. I'll see you soon. I love you."_

"I love you too."

Grant pulls the phone down from his ear and ends the call.

"Yo, Grant."

Turning his head, Grant sees Kebo sauntering towards him. He nods once at the other man. "Kebo."

Kebo stops next to him and leans sideways against the bar top. "Right, so, bunch of us are getting ready to head out and do some collecting and maybe some roughing up of the locals. You coming with us?"

Grant shakes his head and takes a deep breath. "No. I have somewhere I need to be right now."

"Come on, man. You love going out to collect. It's the only thing that really gives you joy in this miserable world that we live in."

"Kebo, I said no," Grant repeats. "I'm busy."

"Grant, come on."

Grant lets out a frustrated sigh and slams his glass of whisky against the tabletop, shattering the glass.

He shifts in his seat and gestures for Kebo to come closer. Kebo remains in his spot.

Grant sighs and motions again. "Kebo, come here," he says quietly and calmly.

Kebo hesitates for a moment before taking a few steps towards Grant.

Grant quickly reaches out and grabs the back of Kebo's head, smashing his face down into the glass.

He stands from his seat and steps around Kebo's unconscious body on the floor, grabbing his phone off the counter as he makes his way to the door.

"I said I'm busy."

.

.

.

"Skye?" Grant calls out as he steps through her apartment door, pocketing his key again and closing the door behind him.

"In here."

He makes his way through her apartment towards her bedroom in the back.

Stopping in the doorway to her room, he leans against the doorframe and watches as she paces back and forth across the carpet, wringing her hands together and biting her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Hey, what's up?"

Skye jumps slightly and turns to face him. "Hey. I have something important I need to talk to you about."

He pushes off of the frame and steps inside the room. "That's what you said on the phone. Is everything okay?"

Skye shifts on her feet. "I uh, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this because we've never talked about the possibility of this happening. Ever. Especially not now. So I'm just a little nervous."

Grant steps towards her and places his hands on her shoulders. He dips his head slightly to look in her eyes. "Skye, just tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it. _We_ can handle it."

She takes a deep breath. "Okay. This might be easier doing it a different way." She reaches over to the nightstand and grabs two boxes off it, one flat and rectangular, and the other one a long thin rectangle. "I was trying to think of how to tell you this, and I think these will make things pretty clear. Open this one first," she tells him, handing him the flat gift box.

Grant takes the box from her and holds it in his hands. Pulling the lid off of it, he peals back the white tissue paper to reveal a white baby onesie with the words 'OF COURSE I'M CUTE LOOK AT MY DADDY' written across the front of it. He looks up at his girlfriend. "What?"

"Now open this one," she says, holding the skinnier box out to him and taking the onesie.

Grant takes the skinny box from her without a word and pulls the lid off. Pulling back the tissue paper, he finds two pregnancy tests staring back at him. Two _positive_ pregnancy tests.

Sucking in a breath, Grant looks up at Skye with wide eyes. "Skye…?"

Skye gives him a shy smile with tears shining in her eyes and nods. "I'm pregnant, Grant. You're going to be a dad."

Grant stills, taking in a sharp breath.

"Grant?" Skye says. "Babe, are you okay?"

Grant blinks a couple times. "You're...and I'm...and we're..."

Skye nods. "Yeah. We're going to have a baby. Is that okay?"

Grant gives her a look. "Is that...? Come here." He steps forward and wraps his arms around her, dropping the gift box onto the bed. He feels her arms wrap around him in response. "Of course it's okay," he tells her. "It's definitely way more than okay."

She leans back and tilts her head to look up at him. "Really?"

He nods his head. "Really." He dips his head to lovingly plant his lips to hers. "I love you so much, Skye," he says against her lips.

She smiles. "I love you too, Grant."

Grant places a hand on her still flat stomach, looking down at it briefly before looking back at her. "And I love this baby too. So much."

Skye smiles up at him. "Me too." She smiles even wider when Grant drops to his knees in front of her, lifting the hem of her shirt to reveal the taut skin of her stomach.

He leans forward and presses a kiss right below her belly button. "I love you so much already, little baby," he says against her skin, his forehead resting against her stomach. "Your mommy and I are so excited to meet you in a few months." He presses another kiss to her stomach, his lips lingering there for a moment as he does so.

Skye wipes the tears from her eyes and then reaches down to pull Grant up from the floor. She grabs his hand in hers and pulls him with her towards the bed.

"Skye, what are you..."

Skye turns towards him and smiles up at him. "I'm already so in love with you, and you talking to the baby just now has made me fall that much more in love with you."

"And?"

Skye lets her smile turn into a smirk as she reaches down to pull her t-shirt off over her head and toss it to the ground. "And I want to show you exactly how in love with you I am right now. That okay with you?"

Grant steps forward and cups the back of her neck in his hand, tilting her head back as he leans down to press his lips to hers. "That is perfectly fine with me," he says against her lips. He pulls back slightly. "But only if I get to show you how much I love you too."

Skye smiles. "Deal."

.

.

.

Lying curled up in her bed, Grant sidled up right next to her with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, Skye lightly drags her finger up and down Grant's arm, drawing random shapes on his skin.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Skye lifts her head to see Grant smiling at her.

She smiles back at him. "It's nothing."

"Skye, come on. I can see it on your face." He shifts the both of them on the bed so he's lying on his back and she's lying against his chest. "Tell me what's going on."

Skye sighs. "I just...I'm worried."

"About?"

"You," she tells him.

He furrows his brows. "Me? Why would you be worried about me?"

"Are you forgetting who your family is?" she asks him. "And I'm not talking about just your dad and Joey. I'm talking about the entirety of Hydra. You told me that you've known most of those guys since you were a kid. And that Kebo's the most loyal to you. What are they going to do when they find out about the baby?"

"They aren't going to do anything," he says to her. He reaches up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You're my girl, Skye, you're untouchable to them. They all know that if they even _think_ about laying a finger on you then they have to answer to me. I may not kill people, but they don't need to know that. And I'm still pretty good at inflicting a good amount of excruciating pain. What I'm getting at here is that no one is going to hurt you."

"It's not me that I'm worried about, Grant. It's you."

"You know I can take care of myself, Skye," he reminds her. "None of those guys even dare to come near me."

"What about Joey?" she asks.

"Joey's all talk when it comes to me, but he's never once actually laid a finger on me."

"Still. What's going to happen when they all find out about the baby?" she asks him. "I don't think they'll take too well to you knocking up some outsider. Even if some of them have already met me."

"Hey, you are _not_ some outsider, you are the woman that I love. And you're not knocked up, you're pregnant, with my baby. With _our_ baby. And there is nothing I love more in this world than you and this baby. _Nothing_."

"Not even collecting?" Skye jokes with a hint of a smile.

Grant smiles and laughs quietly, shaking his head. "Not even collecting."

Skye smiles. "Good." She leans forward to press a kiss to his lips before lying back down and resting her head comfortably on his chest.

"Skye?" he speaks up after a moment.

"Yeah?" she responds.

"When did you find out?" he asks her. "About the baby."

"Just yesterday," she tells him. "You know I've been feeling pretty much like crap for a few days and I didn't want you to catch what I had, which, for the obvious reason, is not even a possibility anymore. But Jemma came over yesterday to take care of me even though I told her not to because I didn't want her to get sick, but she came over anyways."

"When Jemma cares about you there's no stopping her," Grant says with a smile.

Skye laughs quietly. "Yes, that is very true. But anyways, she came over and was helping me. I was completely miserable; I had already thrown up a lot and didn't want to eat anything because just the smells of certain foods in the kitchen were making me sick to my stomach."

"I'm sorry about that," he says.

"Thanks. It's just the morning sickness. It should go away eventually."

"Good. I don't like the idea of you being so sick the entire pregnancy. That's nine months of throwing up constantly."

"Believe me, I don't like the idea either. When Jemma was here she was talking to me and asking me all of these questions and I swear she should have been a doctor she seems to know so much about the human body."

"I'm sure she would have made a great doctor."

Skye nods. "Yeah. And while she was asking me all these questions, things slowly started to make more and more sense in my head, the pieces started to fit together. I mean, we had that one night a few weeks back, and we both got pretty tipsy, I don't think we were too concerned about being safe as much as we were about ripping each other's clothes off."

"That was a great night," he says with a small, reminiscent smile.

Skye smiles. "Considering it was most likely the conception of our child that's currently growing inside me, I'd have to agree."

Grant leans over her and presses a kiss to her cheek. "I love you so much," he says against her cheek. "And I love that onesie too."

Skye turns her head to look up at him. "I thought you might. And just so you know, I plan on buying as many onesies with cute or cheesy sayings on them as I possibly can before our kid gets too old for them."

Grant laughs quietly and smiles. "Sounds like a solid plan." He presses another kiss to her cheek before settling back down behind her, holding her closer.

The two let silence embrace them as they lie together wrapped up in each other's arms.

* * *

Breathing in deeply, Skye opens her eyes slowly, the light coming in through the window shining right onto her face. Glancing behind her, she notices Grant's absence in the bed.

Taking another deep breath she moves the covers off of her body and sits up, stretching her arms above her head.

Standing up, she grabs one of Grant's shirts from the floor and pulls it on over her head before making her way out of the room.

"Morning." Skye greets her boyfriend with a smile as she pads into the kitchen, running one hand through her messy bed hair.

"Morning," Grant mumbles back, his eyes focused on the warm pan sitting on the stove in front of him.

"Hey, you okay?" Skye asks him as she sits down in a chair at the table.

Grant glances at her over his shoulder. "Yeah. I'm uh, I'm just thinking."

"About what?" she asks.

"Leaving."

Skye's breath catches in her throat. "What? But yesterday you said that you...and we were so...why do you...why..." she trails off as she feels the tears springing to her eyes.

Grant's eyes go wide and he spins around quickly to rush towards Skye, going down onto his knees in front of her and grabbing her face in his hands. He uses his thumbs to wipe the escaped tears from her cheeks. "Hey hey hey, whoa. No, don't think like that. I'm not going to leave you. You and our baby are stuck with me forever."

"But you just said..."

Grant sighs and nods. "I know. I know what I said. And I should have clarified what I meant. I'm not leaving _you_ , Skye. I'm leaving Hydra. For good."

Her breathes catches in her throat again and her eyes go slightly wide. "What?"

"I'm getting out," he repeats. "I've wanted to get out for a while, because I love you and want to be with you, but I just couldn't find the guts to actually do it. But you getting pregnant, this baby, it's just the right motivation that I need to get out and away from that lifestyle. We're going to have a baby; I want to devote one hundred percent of my time to him or her without having to worry about my ties to Hydra."

"You're really serious about this?" she asks him.

He nods. "Completely serious. I don't want to live the rest of my life terrorizing innocent people who don't deserve it. I want to be a father. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our baby. That's all I want to do. For the rest of my life. Just spend all of my time with you and our baby."

Skye gives him a smile with tears pooling in her eyes. "I want that too," she tells him. "I just didn't know how to bring it up. Hydra's all you've known. It's your life and family."

Grant shakes his head. "No, it wasn't my life. It was just a way of living my life because that's all I knew how to do. And as for family, the only family there I still care about is Andrew. You and this baby are my family now, Skye. And I love you both so much more than I ever thought was possible."

Skye gives him a tearful smile. "Me too."

Grant leans forward and presses his lips to hers, pulling away after a moment and resting his forehead against hers, cradling her face in his hands.

"You and this baby are my entire world," he whispers.

"Same for me," Skye replies. She opens her eyes and pulls back so she can look at him. "So you're really going to get out of Hydra?"

Grant nods. "Yeah."

"Do you really think Joey will let you?"

Grant sighs. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Because I'm getting out. For you. For this baby. For _us_."

Skye smiles. "That makes me really happy to hear. I want this to last forever," she tells him.

"So do I," he responds. "You and this baby are the two best things to ever happen to me. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we all stay together."

"Sounds good to me."

Grant takes a deep breath. "Also, I want to tell Andrew."

"You do?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. I think it'll be good for me to tell someone else. And he'll probably be really excited about getting to be an Uncle. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me," she tells him. "I actually think it's a great idea to tell Andrew about the baby."

"Really?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm. Even though I've only been around him that one time, I think he'll make a really great Uncle. Just…let's try to avoid telling Joey for as long as possible, or completely, really. I don't want him finding out. I'm afraid of how he'll react and what he might do."

"Don't worry. I wasn't planning on telling Joey either. He already knows about you and me and that's stressful enough as it is. But if he knew about the baby and the fact I want to get out, I don't even want to think about it."

"Then it's settled," Skye says. "We tell Andrew, but not Joey."

Grant nods. "Yes."

"And obviously we're going to have to tell my parents. And I'm going to have to tell Fitz, Jemma, and Trip too. They're pretty much my only friends out here. And obviously I'm going to have to tell my boss eventually so I'll be able to get some time off from work when the baby comes. And oh my goodness, is there really enough space in this apartment to raise a baby? Where the hell are we going to put everything we'll need? And what about—"

"Skye," Grant cuts her off. "Relax, okay? Let's just take this all one day at a time, alright?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, okay. You're right. One day at a time. That's smart."

"Yeah, it is. Now, I'm going to finish making us some breakfast and then later on we'll worry about how and when we're going to tell everyone, okay?"

Skye nods. "Okay. Good plan."

Grant smiles. "I thought so." He leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead before standing up. He moves back over to the stovetop, picking up the spatula and focusing on the pancake mix in front of him. "Time for an amazing breakfast for the amazing woman I love," he says with a smile, turning his attention fully on the stove.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> A Skyeward baby is on the way, you guys! Woo!
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	23. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye share their big news with their family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter. It's Sunday night and I'm a little bored and this weekend was a pretty good weekend, so I'm feeling a little generous and have decided to upload a little earlier than usual for this week.
> 
> We're pretty much in the home stretch for chapters you guys. Only a few more chapters left. It's getting real.
> 
> This chapter is a pretty sweet one.
> 
> Enjoy!

"You know you're completely spoiling me, right?" Skye asks as she sits at the kitchen table, leaning back comfortably in her chair, one hand resting on her still flat stomach.

Grant smiles at her over his shoulder from where he stands in front of the stove. "Isn't that my job as the loving and attentive boyfriend?"

Skye smiles. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm definitely not one to complain about it, though. I think I kind of like being waited on hand and foot."

"Well I'm glad you do," he says. "Because you can expect a whole lot more of it over the next few months until that baby gets here. You won't have to lift a finger if it's unnecessary for you to do so. We want you and the baby to be as safe and comfortable as possible."

"As long as you don't get too excessive in all of this I think I'll be okay with whatever happens," she tells him.

"I'll try my hardest not to be excessive, but I can't promise that I won't go a little overboard some of the time. Just let me know if it gets to be too much for you and I'll back off as much as you want," he tells her.

Skye laughs quietly. "Oh, I'm planning on it, believe me. There will be no sugar coating it, I will tell you straight up if you're being overbearing."

"I definitely believe you," he says. "First ultrasound today," he comments after a quiet moment between them.

Skye breathes in and smiles. "I know. I'm really excited. Today's the day. We finally get to see our baby for the first time. You know, you hear all those stories about parents viewing the first ultrasound and seeing their babies, and it always sounds so amazing, and now we actually get to experience that for ourselves."

"It's definitely going to be exciting," Grant tells her. "What do you think it'll be like?"

"I'm not sure. I'm just really looking forward to seeing the image of our baby on screen, and all the good stuff that comes from that."

"I'm looking forward to that too," he says. "Today is going to be a really great day."

Skye smiles and nods. "Yes it is."

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Skye asks Grant as they sit together in the examination room, waiting for the doctor to arrive to start the ultrasound.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Grant replies. "I mean, you're the one actually doing all the hard work by growing our baby. And then you even have to push it out too."

Skye nods. "True. But something tells me you've never been to one of these before. You haven't, right? There's no secret kid of yours out there somewhere that I should know about?"

Grant chuckles and shakes his head. "No. I can one hundred percent promise you that I do not have a secret child out there somewhere."

"Good. Because if you did then we'd have a serious problem right now."

"Yes we would," he agrees. "Are you nervous?" he asks her.

Skye breathes in deeply and then nods. "Little bit, yeah. But I'm also excited to see our baby."

Grant smiles. "Me too." He reaches up and places his hand on top of hers, giving it a small squeeze of reassurance.

"Skye Coulson?"

Grant and Skye turn their heads towards the door to see a stoutly man with dark red hair wearing light blue scrubs stepping through.

"That's me," Skye says to the man.

"Great," he replies, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind him. "I'm Doctor Jones. How are you feeling today?"

"Better," Skye says honestly with a deep breath. "I've thrown up a lot but thankfully nothing the last couple of days."

The doctor nods and looks down at the open file in his hands. "According to your blood work, you are most definitely pregnant." He lifts his head and smiles at the couple. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Skye says back. "We're both really excited about this."

"That's always great to hear."

"Do you know how far along she is?" Grant asks. "I heard that can be told from the blood work."

The doctor nods. "Yes, it can. You're about a month into your pregnancy, so still in your first trimester."

"Wow," Skye breathes out. "I can't believe I didn't put this together earlier."

"Well have you experienced any kind of stress lately?" Doctor Jones asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. I work in the IT department at work and it can get pretty hectic and stressful there sometimes. Especially since some of the people I work with don't seem to have a real clue about what they're actually doing and so I have to pick up a lot of the slack even though I'm the newest employee."

The doctor chuckles quietly. "Stress can sometimes have similar symptoms as pregnancy," he explains. "The fatigue, the migraines, sometimes even the morning sickness. And when you're stressed, your mind doesn't really process things as it usually does because of the overwhelming outside stimuli. So it doesn't put two and two together and come to the conclusion that you might be pregnant."

"Ah," Skye says with a nod. "Well, you learn something new every day."

The doctor nods. "Yes you do." He takes a deep breath. "So, should we get to the exciting part, then?"

Skye smiles and nods. "Yes please." She looks at Grant. "You ready?"

He takes a deep breath and nods. "Definitely."

Doctor Jones moves about the room, grabbing the ultrasound machine and pulling it closer as he sits down on his stool.

"If you could go ahead and lie back on the bed and lift your shirt," Doctor Jones instructs Skye as he flips the machine on.

Skye does as he tells her, lying back on the bed and lifting her shirt up just enough to expose her taut stomach.

"Okay," Doctor Jones says to Skye, "this gel is going to be a little cold." He reaches out and squeezes some of the gel onto Skye's skin.

Skye sucks in a sharp breath and shifts on the bed. "Wow. You weren't kidding. That's ice cold."

"Now here comes the part I'm sure you're both excited about." He grabs the wand for the machine and sets it in the pool of gel, sliding it around as he looks at the screen beside him.

"And...there we go," Doctor Jones says, reaching out and turning the screen so Grant and Skye can see it. "There's your baby."

"Wow," Skye breathes out, tears shining in her eyes. "That's our baby." She turns her head to look at her boyfriend. "Grant, that's our baby."

Grant nods. "Yeah, I see," he says quietly, tears shining in his own eyes.

She reaches a hand up to cup his cheek. "Hey, are you alright?"

He nods again. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...I don't think I've ever been this happy before."

"Just wait until your baby actually gets here," the doctor says, grabbing their attention again. "That will definitely be the happiest you've been."

"Do you have kids?" Skye asks him.

Doctor Jones nods. "Three. Two twin boys and a little girl. All three of them are my entire world."

"I kind of want a little girl," Skye says. "I think it'd be fun to have a little mini me. What about you, Grant?" She looks up at her boyfriend. "Boy or girl?"

"Either is fine with me," he tells her honestly. "I just hope they're completely happy and healthy when they get here."

"So do I," Skye says. "I can't wait."

Grant lets out a breath with a smile. "Neither can I."

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Grant asks his girlfriend as he makes his way into the living room from the kitchen. He sits down next to her on the couch and sets a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of her.

Skye looks at him and lets out a breath. "Yeah, just nervous. My dad's not exactly your biggest fan, so this whole situation might just make things worse for you."

Grant nods. "I know. But he's going to have to learn to live with me being around, because I'm not going anywhere. Especially now."

She smiles at him. "Like I'd let you get out of this." She leans forward and presses her lips to his. She pulls back and takes a deep breath. "You ready to tell them?"

Grant nods. "Make the call."

Skye takes another deep breath and turns towards her laptop, relaxing a little more when she feels Grant's arm snake around her waist.

She leans forward slightly and presses a few buttons on her keyboard, pulling up her parents over Skype.

She adjusts the screen of the laptop and leans back into Grant's side, waiting for the video call to connect.

_"Hi sweetheart."_

Skye smiles when sees her parents' smiling faces on the screen.

"Hey, guys."

_"So what's going on, Skye?" her dad asks. "Your text seemed pretty urgent."_

"Yeah, I uh," she pauses to glance over at Grant, "we have something important to tell you."

_"Well what is it?" her mom asks._

Skye reaches over to grab the ultrasound photo off of the table and holds it against her chest.

She takes a deep breath and then turns the photo around, holding it up in view of the camera. "I'm pregnant," she tells them. "You're going to be grandparents."

 _"Really?"_ _Phil asks after a minute._ _"I'm going to be a grandpa?"_

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. This is the ultrasound photo we had taken the other day." She points at one area of the black and white photo. "That is your grand baby."

_Phil leans forward towards the screen and squints his eyes. A second later a large smile grows on his face and he leans back. "Wow. I'm going to be a grandpa."_

Skye smiles at her dad before looking at her mom. "Mom?"

_Melinda's quiet for a moment before speaking. "I take it this whole thing was unplanned?"_

Skye nods. "Yeah. It was. We weren't planning for this to happen but we're both happy. We're both adults and we think we're ready for this. We want this."

_"I guess this means he's actually sticking around, then," Phil says._

Grant nods. "Absolutely. I wasn't going anywhere before, sir, but this baby just seals the deal for me." He smiles at Skye. "I'm here for good."

Skye smiles back. "Wouldn't dream of it being any other way."

_"Skye."_

She looks back at her parents. "Yeah?"

_"How far along are you?"_ _her mother asks._

"About a month," Skye tells her. "I've been pretty stressed at work recently so I guess things just kind of...got hectic here. I thought I just had food poisoning or something."

_"Well thank goodness it wasn't food poisoning," Phil says. "I still can't believe I'm going to be a grandpa."_

Skye smiles. "I can't believe I'm going to be a mom,"

_"It's a pretty crazy feeling, huh?" Melinda says to her daughter._

Skye nods. "Definitely."

" _I felt the exact same way when I found out I was pregnant with you. I was honestly a little bit terrified at the prospect of being a mother."_

"I think I'm pretty terrified as well," Skye admits. "But I'm also really excited about this."

"So am I," Grant says. "On both accounts. I never thought I could be a dad, but now I get that chance to prove that I can be a better father than my own was."

_"Well I can tell that you already love this baby," Melinda says. "And that's a great first step to being a good parent. Loving your child is the best thing you can do for them. No matter what happens, make sure that they always know you love them."_

"Oh I can promise I'll do that," Grant says. "I want our baby to grow up the exact opposite of how I grew up. I want them to feel loved and wanted, and to never feel like they have to be someone they aren't just to survive."

Skye smiles sadly at her boyfriend, placing on hand on his cheek. "You're going to be an amazing dad," she tells him softy.

"And you're going to be an equally as amazing mom."

* * *

"Andrew," Grant calls out to his brother when he sees him walking past his bedroom.

Andrew stops in the doorway and leans into the room. "Yeah?"

"You busy right now?"

"Not really. What's up?"

"Want to go for a walk real quick? I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Andrew asks. "Because I swear I haven't done anything."

Grant shakes his head. "No, it's nothing like that. I just have something important to tell you."

"Yeah, okay. Just let me go get some shoes on. I'll meet you out front."

Grant gives him a small smile. "Great." He watches as Andrew moves away from the doorway before standing up from his bed and making his way out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

Moving down the hallway towards the front door, he pulls his phone out and unlocks it as he steps out onto the porch.

Going down the staircase he opens his text conversation with Skye and types a new message _I'm about to tell Andrew the news._

A few seconds later he gets a reply **Good luck, babe. I love you. :)**

He smiles. _Thanks. I love you too._

He locks his phone and slides it back into his pocket just as he hears footsteps approaching him from behind.

Turning around he smiles when he sees Andrew walking towards him.

"Alright, I'm here," Andrew says. "What did you want to talk about?"

Grant shakes his head. "Not here. Come on." He gestures with his head for Andrew to follow him and then begins making his way down the sidewalk and away from the building.

Once they're a good few blocks away from Hydra's building, Grant speaks up. "I have something really important I need to tell you."

"Yeah," Andrew says with a small nod. "You kind of said that part already. Twice, I think."

"Right, sorry. So, uh, you know how I've been dating Skye for just over a year now."

Andrew nods. "Yeah. She's great. I'm glad you're with her."

Grant smiles. "Thanks, so am I. Anyways, we uh, we found something out the other day that is going to completely change everything for us. It's something that we never talked about or expected, but it's happened. We're both really excited about this and I'm hoping that you'll be happy about it too."

"Well it'd probably be a lot easier to be happy if I knew what I was supposed to be happy about."

Grant stops and turns towards his brother. He takes a deep breath. "Skye's pregnant. I'm going to be a dad. And you're going to be an uncle."

Andrew's eyes go wide. "Seriously?"

Grant nods. "Seriously."

Next thing he knows, Grant is being enveloped by Andrew, the younger man hugging his brother tightly.

Grant just smiles and hugs him back.

After a quick moment they pull back from their hug, just smiling at one another.

"You're gonna be a dad," Andrew states. Grant nods. "And I'm gonna be an uncle." Grant nods again. Andrew smiles. "Wow. That's incredible, Grant. Congratulations."

"Thanks. We weren't expecting this, like I said, but we're both really excited about the whole situation."

"I'm sure you are," Andrew says. "And hey, I know you're going to be a great dad, Grant. If the way you helped raise me is any indication, then your kid is very lucky to have you as its dad."

Grant smiles. "Thanks, Andrew."

Andrew shrugs. "Anytime." He takes a deep breath. "So, I take it you don't want Joey or anyone else in Hydra finding out about the baby."

Grant nods. "You would be correct. I just don't want Joey trying to worm his way into my family to try and mess things up."

"I totally get it," Andrew says. "You don't have to worry about me telling him, because I won't. I promise. I don't want Joey screwing up my niece or nephew. He doesn't get to screw them up before I have a chance to spoil them. I mean, I do get to be a part of their life, right?" he asks nervously.

Grant smiles at his brother. "Of course you do, man. Skye and I both talked about it and we'd be more than happy if you were an active part of our baby's life."

Andrew smiles. "I'd really like that."

"Good. Oh, and one more thing. We want you to have this." Grant reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a copy of Skye's ultrasound, handing it over to Andrew.

Andrew takes the black and white image and stares down at it. He looks up at Grant. "Is this what I think it is?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. That's our baby. That's your little niece of nephew."

Andrew breathes out. "Wow. This is so crazy. I still can't believe you're going to be a dad."

"Neither can I, if I'm being completely honest. I never thought I'd get the chance to be a dad. And now I get that chance."

"Well I'm really happy for you, Grant," Andrew says. "And you know Gramsy would be thrilled about this too, getting a great-grandbaby."

Grant smiles at his brother. "She definitely would."

Andrew takes a deep breath. "Now, enough of this sappy crap. Let's go have a drink and celebrate your impending fatherhood."

Grant chuckles. "That sounds great, Andrew. Really great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Now they've seen their baby, Skye's parents know, and Grant's younger brother knows. Exciting stuff, you guys. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	24. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few close friends are told about the baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one's pretty touching, I think.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Hey guys," Skye says to her friends as she and Grant approach the table they're sitting at outside the coffee shop.

"Hello." Jemma smiles up at them.

"How are you guys?" Skye asks them as she sits down, Grant pulling out her chair for her before sitting down in his own chair next to her.

"Pretty good," Jemma replies. "You?"

"Doing really well, actually," Skye tells her. She looks between Jemma, Fitz, Trip, and Raina. "Um, we even have some exciting news to share with you guys."

Jemma gasps. "Are you two engaged?"

Skye smiles and shakes her head. "No." She takes a deep breath. "I'm pregnant. Grant and I are going to have a baby."

Jemma eyes go wide and she grins at her friends. "You're pregnant?!"

Skye bites her lip and nods her head. "Mm-hmm."

"Is that why you were feeling so ill the last few days?" the Brit asks her.

Skye nods again. "Yeah."

Jemma stands from her chair and moves over to Skye, immediately pulling her into a hug. "Oh, this is so exciting. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Skye says. "We're both really happy."

"Yes," Raina speaks up. "This is a very exciting time for you both. Congratulations."

Skye smiles over at the woman. "Thank you."

"How far along are you?" Trip asks her.

"About a month, I think that's what the doctor said. So we're still fairly early on in the pregnancy." She smiles, resting her hands on her stomach. "But we're really, really excited about this."

"Just as you should be," Jemma tells her with a small nod. "You're going to be amazing parents, I just know it."

"Thanks, Jem," Skye says with a smile at her friend. "We really appreciate that. And we're hoping you guys will all be very loving aunts and uncles to this little one," she says, briefly glancing down at her stomach before looking back up at her friends. "So, what do you guys say?"

"You can definitely count on me," Fitz tells her. "I love babies. Not a big fan of the puking, and the spitting up, and the screaming, and the hair pulling, and the—"

"We get it, Fitz," Skye says with a small chuckle.

Fitz nods. "Right. Well, um, what I mean to say is that I'm really happy for you and I'd be more than happy to be an uncle to your baby."

Skye smiles. "That's really great to hear."

"And I would love to be aunt," Jemma says. "I've always hoped to be one but I have no brothers or sisters."

"What about you two?" Skye asks, looking over at Trip and Raina.

Trip smiles at her. "Girl, you know I'd love to be an uncle to your little one."

"And I'd love to be an aunt," Raina tells her.

Skye grins. "That's awesome, really awesome. I'm so glad all of you are on board with this. That makes me really happy."

"Of course we're on board," Jemma says. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know," Skye says honestly. "I guess there was just a small part of me that thought none of you would be happy about this."

"Even though I told her everything would be perfectly fine," Grant says, shifting in his seat and draping an arm across the back of her chair.

"I know that now," Skye replies, leaning back into his side. "It was a little bit irrational, but I'm over it. And now, I have something for all of you," she says to her friends. She reaches into her bag and pulls out four copies of the ultrasound photo, handing them across the table to her friends. "That is the printout from our first ultrasound. I hoped you guys might want that. And if you want a new one each time I have an ultrasound, I'd be more than happy to give one to you."

"I would definitely love to take you up on that offer," Jemma says to her friend. "I want to stay completely up to date on everything."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Fitz tells her.

"I would love copies as well," Raina says.

"You know I'd love to hear all about everything," Trip speaks up. "Except for the really intimate personal details that have the possibility of scarring one's memory."

Skye laughs. "Duly noted. I'll make sure not to tell you about our sex life."

Trip smiles and nods. "Very much appreciated."

Skye laughs again. "Alright, so, are we going to order some food now? I'm starving."

Trip chuckles. "And thus it begins."

* * *

"Hey, Skye," Grant speaks up from where they're lying curled up in bed together, legs tangled together.

"Yeah?" she responds.

"Do you, maybe, want to go somewhere with me tomorrow?"

"Where?" she asks him.

"Um, to go visit Gramsy," he replies. Skye turns her head to look at him. He breathes in deeply before continuing to speak, "I usually only go once a year, on the anniversary, but I want to go to tell her about the baby. And I want you to go with me so you can finally meet her, in a sense."

Skye smiles. "I'd love to go with you."

"You would?" he questions.

She nods, turning over onto her back. "Mm-hmm. I was actually wondering when you were going to suggest taking me there with you when you went to visit her next."

"You were?"

"Yeah. I can tell that she really meant a lot to you and if she was still here she probably would have been the first person you told about the baby."

Grant smiles down at her and nods. "She would have been, yeah. And she also would have been really happy for us. Of course, she more than likely would have smacked me upside the head for not being careful, but she still would have been pretty happy."

"She definitely sounds like an interesting woman," Skye says. "I would have loved to have met her."

"I would have loved that too," Grant tells her. "I'm sure she would have loved you just as much as I do. Though, she probably would have had a ton of questions for you about our relationship and whether or not you really wanted to be with me. Gramsy was always very protective."

"I take it that's where you get your protective nature from, then?"

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah, I guess it is. Gramsy always wanted me to get out of the Hydra lifestyle and have my own life and my own family, so she'd be really thrilled that that's what's happening now. And I'm positive she would have completely doted on this child, giving them all kinds of attention. I wouldn't say that she'd have spoiled them, necessarily, but it would have been pretty close to that."

"Well I can guarantee that my dad is probably going to spoil our child like crazy. My mom says that while she was pregnant with me my dad was always buying stuff for me. All kinds of clothes and toys and some really random stuff that he thought was cute but my mom was pretty sure they'd never actually end up using."

"Wow."

Skye nods. "Yeah. Even though I'm still really early into this pregnancy I'm almost one hundred percent positive that my dad is already buying stuff for this baby. Or at the very least, he's doing the window shopping and looking online for different things."

"I'm sure your mom is doing her best to keep him in check, though," Grant says.

"She's probably trying," Skye tells him. "But I don't know how well she's going to do. My mom says that my dad's always been a little baby crazy."

"Even though I haven't spent much time with your dad, that really isn't too hard to believe. I could see it on his face when we told your parents about the baby."

Skye smiles at the memory. "Yeah, he was pretty thrilled. He's going to be a great grandpa. And my mom is going to be an amazing grandma."

"And then there's us," Grant says with a small smile.

Skye smiles back at him. "Yes there is. Do you think we're going to be good parents?" she asks, biting her lip.

Grant takes a deep breath and looks her right in the eyes. "I think that as long as we love our child unconditionally and do what we think is best for them, we're going to be just fine."

"Yes we are."

.

.

.

"Do you really think she would have liked me?" Skye asks her boyfriend as they make their way through the gates of the cemetery, hands clasped tightly together.

"How many times do I actually have to answer this?" Grant replies, glancing down at his girlfriend.

"Until I really believe it," she tells him. "This is your grandmother, Grant. Maybe you think she would have liked me but in reality she probably would have resented me for getting pregnant and trapping you in this relationship."

"Whoa." Grant stops walking and turns towards Skye. "There is no way she would ever think that you're trying to trap me in this relationship. We love each other and I would be with you still even if you weren't carrying my baby. Gramsy would see that love between us, I'm sure of it."

Skye purses her lips in thought for a moment before sighing. "You're right, I'm sorry. I really don't know why I'm thinking about this. I shouldn't have voiced it when we're going to visit her grave."

Grant shakes his head. "It's fine. I'm glad you said something." He cups one of her cheeks in his hand so that she's looking up at him. "I want you to know that I in no way think that you were trying to trap me in this relationship or anything similar to that. This pregnancy was an accident, a happy accident that I'm really glad happened."

Skye smiles up at him. "Me too."

Grant leans down to press a quick kiss to her lips before releasing her face. "Come on," he says, gesturing with his head as they start walking again. "We're almost there."

The rest of the walk is spent in a comfortable silence as they continue through the cemetery.

"Here we are," Grant speaks up when they finally reach the headstone.

Skye looks down at the stone, reading over it. "Marianne Ward," she reads aloud. "She was your dad's mother?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. She used to say sometimes that she can't believe her son, my dad, turned out the way he did. She said she thought she loved him enough when he was a kid. She never could figure out where she went wrong with him for him to become the leader of a gang that terrorizes people."

"Maybe it couldn't have been helped," Skye suggests. "Maybe some people are just destined to turn out a certain way despite their upbringing. I mean, look at you; you didn't turn out at all like the rest of those Hydra guys. Part of it probably has something to do with your grandmother, but I also think a large part of it is because you were never meant to be such a bad guy. You were meant to meet me, fall in love, and start a family," she says, smiling up at him.

Grant smiles back down at her. "Yeah, maybe I was." He turns towards the headstone and takes a deep breath before speaking. "Hi, Gramsy. I know it hasn't been a full year yet, but I have some exciting news I want to share with you. But first, I want to officially introduce you to Skye." He reaches behind him to grab Skye's hand and pull her a little closer. "Gramsy, this is my girlfriend Skye. Skye, this is Gramsy."

"Hey," Skye says to the headstone, giving it an awkward wave. "Um, it's nice to finally meet you. I wish we could have met sooner."

"We have something we want to tell you, Gramsy," Grant says to the headstone. He takes a deep breath. "Skye's pregnant. I'm going to be a dad. Obviously we didn't plan for this to happen, but we're both really excited about this. I love Skye and she loves me, and we love this baby too."

"Your grandson has been really great to me," Skye says to the headstone. "Pretty much since the moment we met he's been nothing but respectful and super sweet. I'm sure you'd be proud of the man he's turning out to be. And I know for a fact he's going to be an incredible father to our baby." She smiles briefly up at Grant before looking back at the stone. "And I'm sure if you were still here you'd be an amazing great-grandmother."

"We just wanted to come by and tell you the news about the baby," Grant says. "I miss you, Gramsy, a lot. And I really wish you were here right now. I love you." He lingers in front of her grave for a moment before looking at Skye. "We can go now," he tells her softly.

"You sure?" she asks him.

He nods. "Yeah. Even though it's been a few years it still hurts sometimes when I come visit."

"And that's perfectly understandable," she tells him. She gives him a small smile. "Let's go home."

He smiles back down at her. "Yeah, let's." He holds her hand firmly in his and turns around, leading her back towards the cemetery entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Now their close group of friends knows about the baby. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	25. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye take a big step in their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! Can't believe this story is almost over. My goodness.
> 
> Enjoy!

"So, I've been thinking about something," Grant speaks up casually while he and Skye sit curled up together on her couch watching a movie on TV.

"Well that can't be good," Skye teases with a small smile.

Grant rolls his eyes. "You're hilarious. But I'm being serious right now, Skye. I have a thought."

Skye shifts slightly and looks up at him. She nods her head. "Okay, I'm listening. You have my full and undivided attention."

Grant smiles and then takes a deep breath. "I think we should get a new place. A nice place. Like a house. Somewhere we'd be proud to raise this baby." He gently places a hand on her stomach.

"Seriously?" Skye asks him.

Grant nods. "Yeah. I mean, you mentioned it once already, albeit very briefly and in a slightly panicked state, but you still mentioned it. Your apartment is nice enough for someone on their own or just the two of us, but I think our baby deserves to grow up in a house, an actual house. Complete with a big backyard for him or her to play in, and a garage for a car or two, the whole nine yards."

"You seem to be really into this idea," Skye remarks.

"I just really want this baby to have the best we can give it," he tells her.

Skye smiles at him. "Well I think that us buying a house sounds like a really great idea."

"You do?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm. I love my apartment, it's very...me. But I want this baby to have the same kind of childhood that I did, growing up in a nice house with two very loving, and in love, parents."

"I completely agree," Grant tells her with a smile. "And I really love the idea of our baby growing up in a house with loving parents. I didn't have that luxury growing up so I really want that for our baby."

"Well then we should probably start looking for something," she says to him. "Where were you thinking about getting a place?"

"Well I really love where we are, I've grown up here, and you have your job here and our friends. But maybe we should find a place on the other side of town. Not too far from your work so you don't have to worry about finding a new job, but as far away from Hydra as we can possibly get. None of those guys really bother venturing down into the south side of town, so maybe we can find a nice place out there."

"I think that's a great idea," she tells him. "I don't want to risk our baby getting involved with Hydra in any way, shape, or form."

"Neither do I."

"So we're really going to get a house?" she asks him.

Grant smiles and nods. "Yeah. I think so."

Skye smiles. "Awesome." She leans up to press her lips to his in a kiss. "I love you," she says against his lips.

He smiles. "I love you too."

* * *

"This looks like a decent enough place," Grant says as he pulls the car up to a modest looking home.

"Yeah, it looks pretty nice on the outside," Skye agrees. "But the inside is what we need to look at. Everything about our new place has to be perfect. It's going to be the first home our baby has once it gets here and everything has to be just right."

Grant nods. "I get it. I want everything to be perfect too. But you can't be too picky, okay?"

"I will try my hardest but I make absolutely no promises. We're looking for the place that is going to be our home, where we raise our family. It can't just be another house; it has to be the perfect house."

Grant nods. "I agree. Now should we go inside to look, or do you just want to stay out here?"

"Of course we're going to go inside," she tells him. "We can't just look at the outside of the house and decide whether or not to buy it. We have to look around, get a feel for it."

Grant nods. "Right, obviously."

"Let's go then," she says with a smile, reaching out to grab the handle of the car door and push it open.

Grant smiles and follows behind her, making sure to lock the car after he gets out.

Stepping up beside his girlfriend, Grant grabs Skye's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together, and smiling down at her. "You ready to go inside?" he asks her.

She smiles up at him and nods her head. "Mm-hmm."

Without another word they make their way towards the house, up the stairs to the front porch and then through the door into the house.

"It's cute," Skye says simply when they get inside. She looks around the room a bit

"I guess it could work for us. I mean, it's a really nice place."

Grant nods in agreement. "That it is. But is it nice enough for us to buy as a house for our family?"

"Maybe we should take a look around," Skye tells him. "That's the only way we'll be able to really know and get a feel for the place."

"Okay. Let's look around." He gently tugs on her hand and guides her around the house.

They move together throughout the house, looking in all of the different rooms and checking out the different features of the home.

When they reach the front room again they stand there for a moment, thinking to themselves.

"It's not right," Skye says after a moment.

Grant looks down at his girlfriend. "What?"

"I said it's not right," she tells him. "This house is really nice, I'll admit that, but it's not the right house for us."

"Are you sure?" he asks her. "Cause I kind of like it."

She nods. "I'm sure. There's just something off about this place and I don't think it's right for us."

Grant sighs. "If you say so."

"Whoa, hey," Skye says, turning to face him completely. "If you want to buy this house, just tell me."

Grant shakes his head. "No, it's not that. I think it's nice, but I just...every house we've gone to you said it didn't 'feel right' or there was 'something off', and I...I don't have that feeling. You've got this...intuition about all the houses and I don't feel like I'm doing enough here and I just...it's stupid, never mind. Forget I ever said anything about it."

Skye shakes her head. "No. We're not just going to forget about it." She reaches up and frames his face in her hands. "Grant, I want you to listen to me carefully, okay?" He nods. She takes a deep breath. "You are doing plenty, more than enough. You may not be growing this baby, or be able to have that intuition about the houses you mentioned, but you are doing so much more important things. You even have the most important job second to growing the actual baby."

"What's that?" he asks.

She smiles up at him. "You, Grant Douglas Ward, are the best damn support system a pregnant woman could ask for. You're always there when I need you for anything, you're willing to do anything for me or the baby at the drop of a hat, and you're so incredibly protective of us. The baby isn't even here yet and you're already so protective over him or her. And when they do finally get here you're going to be even more protective and loving." She gently rubs her thumbs across his cheeks. "You are going to be the best father in the world. Do you know how I know that?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"I know it because you are one of the sweetest, kindest, most caring and protective men I have ever met. And all that just goes to show me that you're going to be an amazing father."

Grant smiles at her. "And you're going to be an amazing mother."

Skye smiles up at him. "I know."

He chuckles. "Of course you do. Now, should we get going so we can try and find the _perfect_ house for our little family?"

Skye grins and nods her head. "Yes, let's do that."

"Good. Come on." He grabs one of her hands in his and leads her out of the house and back to the car.

* * *

"How many more places are we going to look at today?" Skye asks her boyfriend. "Because my feet hurt and I'm hungry."

Grant smiles and reaches over the console to grab her hand in his. "Just a few more places. Then we can go back to the apartment and get some food and rest for a bit."

She tilts her head to look at him. "Promise?"

Grant nods. "Promise. Although, you're the one who's said that every house we've gone to so far hasn't felt right, so really, the reason we're still out is all on you."

"It's not my fault that none of these houses seem good enough to start a family in," she replies.

"Well we need to find one," he tells her. "And I know you want it to be perfect, but maybe there's no such thing as the _perfect_ house."

Skye shakes her head. "Not true. Everyone has their perfect house. My parents said the same thing about the house they bought after they got married; the one I grew up in. They said as soon as they stepped inside they knew it was the right one for them. Just like we are going to know the right house for us as soon as we see it."

"You seem really sure about that," he says, tossing her a quick glance.

She nods her head. "I am."

"That's great. Because here is the next house," he tells her as he pulls the car up in front of two story house.

"Wow," Skye says when she looks out the window. "I love this place already. The outside is super cute. Though, maybe we could paint it at some point, I'm not a huge fan of its color."

"Why don't we go check out the inside?" he suggests.

Skye looks at him and nods. "Yes, let's do that." She turns back around and pushes open her door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

Grant smiles and follows after her, grabbing her hand in his when he reaches her side.

The two make their way up to the front of the house, spotting a real estate agent standing just inside the door.

"Excuse me," Grant speaks up as they enter the house, gaining the woman's attention.

The woman turns towards them and smiles. "Hi. Sheryl Mason, Real Estate Agent. Are you interested in the house?"

Skye nods. "We are. I'm Skye, this is my boyfriend Grant."

"It's nice to meet you," Sheryl says.

"You too," Skye says. "What can you tell us about this place?"

Sheryl takes a deep breath. "Well, it's obviously two stories, full bath upstairs in the master bedroom, and two half baths, one upstairs and one down here. Four bedrooms, a laundry room, a pantry just off the kitchen. Built in A/C and heating runs throughout the whole house. Really great neighborhood, amazing backyard."

"Sounds like a great house," Skye says, looking around the front room.

"It is," Sheryl tells her.

"Do you mind if we look around a bit?" Skye asks.

"Not at all," Sheryl replies. "Take your time, get a feel for the place, let me know what you think when you're done. I'll be around." She gives them a kind smile and steps off to the side to speak with another couple.

"Come on," Skye says to Grant, tugging on his hand to pull him through the house. "Let's look around; I've got a _really_ good feeling about this place."

Stepping back into the front room of the house, Skye takes a deep breath and turns to face Grant. "This is it, babe. This is the place."

"It is?" Grant asks.

Skye nods, a wide smile on her face. "Definitely. It's completely perfect, Grant. It has everything we need, and what it doesn't have we can just buy. It's plenty big enough for us to raise a family here, but doesn't feel too big, and there's a really great elementary school just a few minutes away for when our kid is old enough to go. This is the one, this is our house."

"You really want this one?" he asks her.

Skye nods. "I really do."

"Then we'll get it."

"You really mean it?"

Grant smiles and nods, taking a few steps towards her. He grabs both of her hands in his. "I really mean it, Skye. I'm happy with whatever house we get as long as I'm with you and our baby. And you finally have a good feeling about the house, it's the one. So we're going to put in an offer and hope we get it."

Skye smiles up at him. "I love you."

He smiles back. "I love you too."

"So we're really getting this house?" she asks him.

"Just have to talk with the real estate agent outside and make an offer. You stay in here and start picturing how it'll look when it's all done up, because I know you've already been doing that since we got here."

"No threatening her to get a lower price, okay?"

Grant smiles. "I'll be a perfect gentleman."

"Good. Go get us our house, babe."

"I will." He leans down to press a quick kiss to her lips before making his way back outside, leaving Skye alone with her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> They're getting a house together! Yay! :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	26. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Move-in day :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one's pretty fun.
> 
> Enjoy!

Skye smiles to herself as she stands on the sidewalk outside of her new home, staring up at the building, thinking to herself how happy she is to be at this point in her life.

"Hi there."

She jumps slightly and turns her head to see a woman with strawberry blonde hair standing near her. "Oh, hi," she says back and turns fully towards her.

"Sorry for startling you. I'm Carol," the woman says, holding her hand out to her.

"Skye," she replies, accepting the woman's hand.

"Are you moving in?" Carol asks her, nodding towards the house behind Skye.

Skye nods and glances back at the house. "Yeah." She looks back to Carol. "My boyfriend and I just bought it."

Carol smiles. "Oh that's so great. I live right next door with my husband Nick and our kids."

"And you guys like it here?" Skye asks her.

Carol nods. "Definitely. We've been here for about five years now. It's a really great neighborhood; everyone around here is so friendly."

"So I've heard," Skye says. "I think that's one of the reasons why I fell in love with this house."

"Well it's a really great house," Carol tells her.

Skye nods. "That it is."

"So how long have you and your boyfriend been together?" Carol asks her.

"A little over a year," Skye responds.

"Wow, that's great."

Skye smiles. "Thanks. We're really happy together."

"As you should be." Carol takes a deep breath. "And where is this boyfriend of yours? I'm dying to meet him."

"Oh, I uh, I think he's inside the house somewhere. I just needed to get out and get some fresh air for a little bit."

Carol nods. "Right. And how far along are you?"

Skye's breath catches in her throat. "What?"

Carol gives her a knowing smile. "Sweetie, I've been pregnant five times already. I know most of the signs and symptoms like the back of my hand. You've had your hand on your stomach almost the entire time we've been standing out here talking."

Skye looks down at her stomach where her hand is resting. "Oh, right." She looks back up at Carol. "Well we just recently found out. I was already about a month along when a friend of mine helped me put all the pieces together."

"Well congratulations. Is this your first?"

Skye smile and nods. "Mm-hmm. Completely unexpected and unplanned, but we're both really happy about it; we can't wait to be parents."

Carol smiles. "That's always great to hear. And I just want you to know that I'm here for whatever you need, anytime of day. I've been through it five times so I know quite a lot and have plenty of tips and tricks to help it go as smoothly as possible."

"That would be really great," Skye says. "Obviously I have no idea what I'm doing and my parents are in California and they aren't coming until a bit later in the pregnancy, so it's great to know I have someone nearby who can help me out. And I'm sure they'll be happy to know that too."

Carol smiles. "It's my pleasure. You seem like a really great person."

"Thanks. So do you."

"And I'm sure I can coax my husband into spending some time with your boyfriend and telling him all about what he can expect as a guy during this pregnancy and then afterwards once the baby arrives."

"Grant will probably really appreciate that. He's been reading a lot of those baby books lately. I'm not sure if he knows that I know, but I think it's actually kind of cute. He's so excited to be a dad. I know he's going to be great, and I really can't wait until the ba—"

"Skye? Honey, do you know where the—oh, hello." Grant makes his way down off of the porch and over to where Skye and Carol are standing. He stops beside Skye and wraps an arm around her waist.

"Grant, this is our next door neighbor Carol. Carol, this is my boyfriend Grant."

Grant smiles kindly at her. "Nice to meet you, Carol."

Carol gives him a small nod and smile. "You as well. Skye tells me that you're expecting."

Grant's smile grows bigger and he nods. "We are. Sometime early next year, I think is what the doctor said for when she's due. That's one of the reasons for us buying a house right now; we both want our baby to grow up in an actual house instead of Skye's tiny apartment."

"Hey, it's not that tiny," Skye defends her old place.

"Maybe not, but this house is definitely plenty big enough for our family."

Skye smiles up at him. "Yes it is."

"I'm sorry," Carol speaks up, getting their attention, "but are you Grant Ward?"

Grant looks back at her. "Uh, yeah, I am. You know who I am?"

Carol gives him a look. "Everyone knows who you are, even if Hydra never actually ventures down into this neck of the woods."

Grant nods. "Ah, I see. Well, I'm not like any of those other guys. I'm not going to cause harm to anyone here."

"I believe you," Carol says with a nod. "I mean, after all, you are moving way out here with your girlfriend who's carrying your baby. I'd definitely say you're nothing like those other guys."

"He's also a giant teddy bear," Skye tells Carol with a smile. "He's very protective and actually loves to cuddle whenever he gets the chance."

Grant groans. "Skye, why do you have to go and tell people things like that?"

"Because it's adorable the way you get all shy and embarrassed when people find out," she says to him.

"I'm not embarrassed or shy," he tells her. "I'm just not a big fan of people I don't know yet knowing all the intimate details about my life." He looks at Carol. "No offense or anything."

Carol shakes her head. "None taken. I get it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being cautious."

"No there isn't," Skye says. "I was actually pretty cautious of him when we first met. But I quickly learned to love him and realize he's not at all like what everybody was always saying about him."

"Moooommmmyyy!"

Carol sighs. "That would be my youngest. I should probably go before she decides to come out here. She's in a phase where she doesn't want to wear any clothes for any length of time."

Skye laughs quietly. "Sounds like fun."

"Oh it is," Carol says sarcastically. "Just wait; you're both in for times like these when your little one gets here. I'll see you both around. Don't hesitate in stopping by any time, either. I'm usually always at home with at least one of the kids." She turns and begins making her way back towards her house.

"Thanks," Skye calls after her retreating form. "See you later." She lets out a breath and looks up at her boyfriend. "She's nice, I like her."

Grant nods slowly. "She does seem pretty nice."

"So what did you want earlier?" Skye asks him.

He looks down at her. "What?"

"You came out here to ask me something before you saw Carol," she reminds him.

He nods. "Oh, right. Come with me." He grabs her shoulders and gently guides her back up to the house as he starts speaking.

* * *

"I know we just barely started and still have a little ways to go before it's completely done, but I have to say it, this place is really coming along nicely," Grant says as he stands in the living room of his and Skye's new home, admiring how things are coming together within it.

"Yes it is," Skye replies, carrying a cardboard box into the room from the hallway and stopping next to her boyfriend. "And it's going to look so great when it's finally all done."

"It definitely will," Grant says with a nod. "We should probably get out to the store later to get some more—what are you doing?"

"What?" she asks innocently, still holding the box in her hands.

"Skye, you shouldn't be lifting heavy things right now."

Skye sighs and rolls her eyes, shifting the box in her arms. "I'm pregnant, Grant, not an invalid. And I'm barely even pregnant, at that. So relax, please. It's not going to hurt me or the baby if I lift a few cardboard boxes that hardly even weigh anything."

"But I—"

Skye nods. "I know. You're just looking out for us, and I really appreciate it. But you need to relax just a little bit, okay? I don't need you getting all stressed out over things like this when I myself am going to get very stressed out simply for the fact that I'm carrying and growing a human being and have to pee every five minutes."

Grant nods. "Right, sorry. I guess I may have overreacted a little."

Skye gives him a small smile. "Thank you. Now take this," she says, shoving the box into his arms. "I really have to pee." She doesn't wait for a response from him, simply turns around and makes her way down the hall towards the bathroom.

Grant chuckles quietly and shakes his head, turning and leaning down to set the box on the hardwood floor.

He moves towards another box when his phone going off in his pocket stops him. He pulls the device out and looks at the screen, seeing Andrew's name on it.

Hitting the answer call button, he holds the phone up to his ear and speaks, "Andrew, hey."

_"Hey, Grant. What's up?"_

Grant shrugs. "Not a lot. Skye and I are just working on moving things inside the house and starting to get things set up."

_"Ah. Cool, cool. And are you guys good just by yourself? You've got it all covered?"_

Grant rolls his eyes. "Andrew, would you like to come over and help us?"

_"Yes! Please. I'm so bored right now and Joey's being just as aggravating as usual."_

"I get it, I've been there before. You're more than welcome to come on by. I'll text you the address."

_"You're the best, big brother."_

"Yeah, whatever. See you soon."

_"See ya."_

Pulling the phone down away from his ear, he hangs up the call and slides the phone back into his pocket.

"Okay, I think I should be good now for maybe ten or so minutes," Skye says with a small laugh as she makes her way back into the room.

"Andrew's coming by," Grant tells her.

"He is?"

Grant nods his head. "Yeah. He just called and hinted at the fact that he wanted to come over. So he's going to come by and help us finish getting the house together."

Skye smiles. "That'll be nice. I haven't spent a lot of time with your brother. I need to get to know my baby's uncle."

Grant smiles. "And I'm sure he wants to get to know his niece or nephew's mom just as much."

"So what time is he coming over?" she asks.

"He should be on his way. I think he's taking the bus."

"He doesn't drive?"

Grant shrugs. "Just never happened for him."

"Well that's too bad. We should help him get a license so he can drive himself places."

"He doesn't exactly have a car."

"Well we can help him get one of those too."

Grant sighs. "Skye, please do not go all mother hen on my brother, okay? Besides, we don't really have the funds to help out my brother _and_ provide for our baby. It's one or the other here and I really hope you pick the right one."

Skye smiles. "Don't worry. The baby will always come first. I just think maybe we should try and help Andrew out a bit, that's all."

Grant nods. "That's fine. I don't mind helping him out. But there has to be a limit, okay?"

"I promise I won't go overboard."

Grant smiles and drops a kiss to the top of her head. "Good."

.

.

.

A knock on the door pulls Grant's attention away from where he's setting some of Skye's framed photos on the mantel above the fireplace. "It's open," he calls out, turning around.

The door swings open and Andrew steps through into the house, closing the door behind him. "Hey," he says.

Grant gives him a small smile. "Hey. Welcome to our home," he says, holding his arms out to the side. "What do you think?"

"It's nice," Andrew says with a small nod. "Your baby is definitely very lucky that it gets to grow up in an actual house."

"That's exactly what we were saying when we decided to buy the house," Skye pipes in, making her way into the room. She smiles at Andrew. "Hey, it's great to see you again."

"You too. How are you feeling?"

Skye takes a deep breath, resting one hand on her stomach. "As well as I can be. Thankfully I haven't had very much morning sickness, which I'm very glad about."

"Well you look great," he tells her.

She smiles. "Thanks, Andrew. You're sweet."

Andrew just smiles.

"Alright," Grant speaks up, "I think now is the perfect time for Andrew to jump in and help us get the house together. Then in a little while we can stop for lunch."

"Sounds perfect to me," Skye says. "Can we order some pizza from Marcel's? I don't know if they deliver it but the baby really wants some."

Grant smiles. "If they don't deliver I will go and pick it up."

Skye grins. "You are the best." She leans up on her toes to give him a kiss on the lips. She looks between the two Ward brothers. "I will leave you two here so you can do whatever needs to be done out here while I go and finish setting up my home office." She turns and makes her way out of the room, leaving the two brothers alone.

Grant turns to his brother. "So, you ready to help out?"

Andrew nods. "Absolutely. Just let me know what I need to do and I'll do it."

"Great. You can help me move some of the large stuff inside."

"Let's do it, then." He reaches out to set a hand on Grant's arm, stopping him from going out the front door. "But first," he says, "answer this for me. Exactly how strange is it for you to be in this whole situation, considering how we grew up?"

"It's very strange," Grant tells him honestly. "But I wouldn't give any of it up. I'm finally happy, Andrew. Like, genuinely happy."

Andrew smiles. "Glad to hear it." He drops his hand from Grant's arm and nods curtly. "And now we can bring stuff inside."

Grant laughs quietly and shakes his head. "Come on." He gestures with his head towards the door and then makes his way towards it, Andrew following right behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> They've met one of their neighbors now and are getting all moved in. Exciting times are up ahead.
> 
> Also, I'm working on something and I'd love your guys' help with it. When you leave a review, just let me know a reason or two why you love Skyeward. I know why I love them, but I wanna know why you guys do too. Thanks. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	27. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant and Skye gain a furry new member of the family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! This one's pretty fun, you'll see why.
> 
> Only four more chapters left after this one, my goodness. This story has really gone by fast. Wow.
> 
> Enjoy!

"You know, the front yard is still looking kind of bare," Grant says as he lifts a few things out of the backseat of their car.

"You think so?" Skye asks him, grabbing a couple of the shopping bags out of the backseat as well.

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. We should think about doing something to it to make it look a little livelier and not so boring."

"Good plan," Skye says, moving up the stairs and to the front door. "Maybe we can plant a little garden along the front of the house."

"A garden?" Grant asks, following behind her. "Do you even know how to garden? Because I definitely don't."

"It's just digging up the dirt and putting seeds in it," Skye says as she sets her bags down to fish out her keys. "Honestly, how hard could it really be?"

Grant raises an eyebrow. "Really? Have you ever gardened before?"

She pulls her keys out of her bag and inserts them into the lock. "No. But I'm sure I can just look up on the internet how exactly to start a garden and then go from there." She pushes the door open and picks up her bags as she steps inside the house.

Grant follows behind her with his own bags. "That sounds like a really great plan, babe, but I think gardening takes a lot more than just research on the Internet." He pushes the door closed with his foot.

"Well like what?" she asks, setting her bags down on the couch in the living room.

Grant sets his bags down and looks at his girlfriend. "Skill," he tells her. "And motivation. Because you can't just plant a garden and let it be. You have to actually keep up with it, make sure it isn't getting overrun by weeds or anything."

Skye smiles. "You seem to be awfully versed in this whole gardening thing," she says. "Maybe you should do the garden."

"Gramsy was interested in gardening," he says. "I may have picked up a thing or two from watching and listening to her over the years. But not enough to actually do the garden myself."

Skye sighs. "Fine. Then I'll just do it by myself. Because I am getting a garden." She fixes him with a hard gaze before turning and making her way out of the room.

Grant just chuckles and shakes his head before following after her.

.

.

.

"So, I was thinking about the garden," Skye speaks up as they're lying in bed that night, her arms wrapped around his middle and her head resting on his chest.

Grant sighs. "I thought we already talked about this."

"We did. Kind of." She tilts her head back to look up at him. "But I was thinking about it earlier, and I've decided that I don't want a garden anymore."

Grant raises an eyebrow at her. "Really? All of that this morning and now you don't want a garden?"

She shakes her head. "Nope. You were right, gardens require a little too much attention, it won't work, especially once I get bigger and have literally no energy to do anything. And then when the baby actually gets here I'll be too focused on him or her to focus on a garden. So I've thought of something else we can get?"

"What's that?" Grant asks.

"A dog."

Grant looks down at her. "A what?"

"A dog," Skye repeats. "A cute, fluffy little fur ball that's all ours to love forever."

"You're serious right now?" he asks her.

Skye nods her head. "Mm-hmm. I was doing some reading online and I think it's a really good idea. What do you think?"

Grant lets out a breath. "I think it'll definitely be a challenge trying to care of a puppy while having a newborn baby in the house. More of a challenge than a garden."

"But that's why we get a dog _now_ instead of later," Skye tells him. "That way the dog can get used to living here before the baby comes. And the dog will be inside most of the time so we can keep an eye on it instead of a garden out in front of the house.""

"You really think this'll be a good idea?" Grant asks his girlfriend.

Skye smiles and nods her head. "I really do."

Grant sighs. "Alright. We can get a dog."

Skye gasps. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Yes. We'll go out to the pet shop tomorrow and pick one out. Or the animal shelter. Whichever you prefer."

Skye beams, leaning up to press her lips to his. "You're the best, babe. I love you so much."

Grant smiles. "I love you too. Now go to sleep, please."

She sighs. "Fine. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Here we are," Grant says as he pulls the car up to the front of the animal shelter. "I'm sure there's a puppy in there just waiting for us to take it home. Mainly because you didn't find one you wanted at the pet shop."

"Well then why are we still sitting in here?" Skye asks. "Let's go inside and find our puppy."

Grant chuckles. "Alright. Come on." He pushes open his door and climbs out, shutting and locking the car behind him.

Moving around to the front of the car, he grabs Skye's hand in his as she steps out of the car, lacing their fingers together, and walks up to the front doors of the shelter.

"Oh wow," Skye says when they step through and she sees all of the different animals in their cages. "Look at all of them, Grant, they're all so cute."

"Hello, can I help you with something today?"

Grant and Skye turn their heads to see a tall woman with tight brown curls and a smile on her face standing near them.

"Hi," Grant says to her. "We're here looking to adopt a dog. My girlfriend wants a puppy, specifically."

"Great decision," the woman says. "We have plenty of dogs here for you to choose from; all different shapes, sizes, and ages. If you'll just follow me back this way, I'll take you right to the few puppies that we have." She turns and makes her way further into the shelter, past all of the other animals.

Grant and Skye quickly follow behind her, Skye with an eager smile on her face the entire time.

She gasps when they reach the dog section of the shelter. "Oh my goodness, there's so many of them," Skye gushes. "And they're all so damn cute. I don't think I can decide which one I want."

"Well you're going to have to, babe. We don't have room for all of them at the house, and we can't afford all of them either. Maybe in a few years once the baby and the puppy are older we'll come back and get another one. But for now, just one puppy."

Skye sighs. "Fine." She looks up at him. "Do you have a preference on which breed we get?"

Grant thinks for a moment. "Nothing too fluffy. I want something that'll get big, but not too big. Big enough to protect the house, but is still a big of softie for once the baby gets here."

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm, okay. Let's see what we can find." She grabs his hand and begins pulling him through the section, going up to each of the different kennels and looking at all of the dogs.

"Hi there, cuties," she says, looking around at all of the dogs. "Who wants to come home with me today?" All of the dogs let out small yips and barks, a few of them jumping up against the doors to their kennels.

She kneels down in front of a few of the cages, smiling when the dogs come right up to the door and stick their noses through the holes, trying to lick her hand.

She smiles wide as she talks to the dogs, kneeling down to reach into the kennels so she can pet their heads and scratch behind their ears.

"Skye," Grant speaks up after a few minutes of Skye talking softly to the puppies. "Honey, you need to pick a puppy so we can go."

Skye sighs and stands up. "I can't decide. They're all so great."

He takes a few steps towards her and wraps an arm around her waist. "Well which ones are your most favorites?"

Skye thinks for a moment and then gives him a small smile. "All of them?"

Grant sighs. "Skye…"

"I'm sorry," she says. "I didn't think it'd be this hard to pick out a dog. I thought that I'd come in here and see one and immediately fall in love with it, knowing that that's the dog for me. But I haven't had that yet. And I don't just want to pick any puppy and then at some point down the road wish that I'd picked a different one and—wait, where are you going?" she asks him with furrowed brows when she sees him walking away from her.

"Hang on," he says offhandedly, his attention focused on a kennel in the far corner with a single dog inside. It's a small, black, German Sheppard puppy, his tiny ears stuck up in the air and his dark brown eyes completely focused on Grant as he approaches the kennel.

"Oh, that puppy isn't up for adoption right now," the woman helping them says to Grant.

"Why not?" Skye asks.

"He came from a pretty bad home," the woman says. "The people who had him were pretty cruel so he's not too friendly towards people and we're trying to train him so he can actually go home with someone eventually and not bark and nip at them constantly whenever they try to get close. But it's been a very long process. He's still pretty young and he's only been here about a week but nothing we've done so far has worked. Some of the others who are trying to train him are starting to think it's impossible."

"It's completely possible," Grant says, opening the door of the kennel and stepping inside. He moves so he's sitting on the floor just inside the door, shutting it closed behind him. "Maybe he just needs someone to believe in him, to love him," he tells the woman, not looking back at her. He leans forward slightly and sticks his hand out low to the floor with his palm up. "Hi there," he says in a soft voice. "I promise I won't hurt you."

The puppy stays pressed up against the back wall, standing on all fours in high alert, his head dipped low and his tiny teeth bared at Grant.

Grant gives the puppy a small smile. "It's okay. I'm not like the other people who had you. I won't ever hurt you. I'd never even dream of it." He scoots himself a tad bit closer to the puppy, his hand still stretched out.

The puppy eyes him cautiously for a moment and then takes a small step forward. Then another. And then another. He stops when he reaches Grant's hand, stretching his tiny black nose out to sniff at him.

Grant slowly lifts his hand up and touches the side of the puppy's head. The puppy flinches but doesn't move out of the way. Grant moves his hand back to the puppy's head and gently rubs it. He watches with a smile as the puppy leans into his hand, letting out a small puff of air.

After a moment, the puppy takes a few more steps towards him, resting his front paws on Grant's legs.

"It's okay," Grant says softly. "You can climb into my lap, I won't mind. In fact, I highly encourage and support it."

The puppy slowly moves forward into Grant's lap, turning so he's standing lengthwise on Grant's legs.

Grant smiles and runs his hand along through the puppy's thick fur. "That's a good boy."

"Well it looks like we've found our dog," Skye says with a smile as she watches Grant hold the puppy in his arms and speak softly to him.

"That's incredible," the woman says, a look of complete and utter shock on her face.

Skye smiles wide. "Nope. That's my boyfriend."

.

.

.

"Welcome to your new brand home, Max," Grant says to the puppy as he climbs out of the car, cradling the dog in his arms. "I think you're really going to like it here, bud. Skye and I are pretty nice people so you're going to be very loved here. And in a few months you're going to have a new little friend to play with when they're actually old enough to play."

"Are you done talking to our dog yet?" Skye asks as she steps up beside Grant. "I should have known that you'd be crazier than me about whatever dog we adopted," she says. "After all, dogs _are_ your favorite animal. But are you sure you're going to have enough love left over for the baby too?" she teases with a small smile.

Grant looks up at her and gives her a shy smile. "Sorry."

"It's fine," she assures him. "I think it's sweet. Also, I may have had ulterior motives for wanting to get a dog."

"Like what?"

She smiles. "Practice at parenting."

"I think taking care of a dog and a baby are a little different, Skye."

"Really? Because from what I understand, pretty much all dogs do is sleep, eat, and poop. And babies do the exact same thing for the first few months of their life."

Grant lets out a small laugh. "Alright. I'll let you keep thinking that."

Skye tilts her head. "You say that like you've been through all of this before."

He smiles. "I promise you I have not been through this before. But I do read. Now can we go inside to start getting Max acclimated to the house, please?"

Skye nods. "Yes. But we still have those bags of his stuff in the car and I'm pretty sure you've said how you don't want me to lift things, even if they aren't ridiculously heavy."

Grant sighs. "You take Max inside, I'll grab the bags."

"Max hates me."

"He doesn't you, Skye. He's just not used to you yet."

"You haven't given him a chance to get used to me," she replies. "You wouldn't let me hold him at all when we were at the shelter and then you had me drive so you could hold him in the car."

"But I'm letting you hold him now," he says, holding the puppy out towards her. Max just tilts his head as he looks at her.

Skye purses her lips at her boyfriend. "Fine. Give me the puppy." She carefully reaches out to take Max from him, cradling him in her arms.

Max squirms for a minute in her arms, letting out a few soft yips.

"You're okay, Max," Grant says to the puppy. "Skye's just going to take you inside. I'll be right there. Don't worry."

Skye rolls her eyes. "You're talking to him like he's our child," she comments.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure you're the one who said that adopting a dog is practice for parenting."

Skye nods. "I did say that." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'll take Max inside while you get all the bags out of the car and bring them in. Then we can make some lunch because I am very hungry right now."

Grant smiles. "Sounds like a plan. I have to do a few things before I make us some lunch, but you can hang out with Max and bond with him while I'm busy." He leans forward to give her a quick kiss before stepping back over to the car.

Skye turns towards the house and makes her way up the steps and inside, speaking softly to Max as she goes.

* * *

"Hey Skye?" Grant calls through the house. "Skye? Babe?" Hearing no response from his girlfriend, he makes his way through the house in search of her. He looks in all of the different rooms on the main level, including the bathroom and Skye's home office, but doesn't find her in any of them. He moves his search to the upper level, climbing the two sets of stairs to get there.

Making his way down the hallway, he peers in the few different rooms, including the nursery and one of the spare rooms, looking for Skye. When he reaches their bedroom at the end, he finds the door ajar and pushes it open the rest of the way.

A small smile graces his lips and he stops in the doorway when he sees what's in front of him. Skye is lying on her back on their bed, Max curled up in her lap with his head resting on top of her stomach, the steady rise and fall of Skye's breathing causing Max's head to move up and down in time.

He takes a few steps into the room and moves slowly towards the bed. Max's head shoots up suddenly and his eyes lock onto Grant.

Grant smiles and kneels down in front of the dog. "Hey Max," he says, reaching out to rub the dog's head affectionately. When Grant drops his hand down to rest on the bed, Max lets out a soft yip and curls himself in more around Skye's stomach, eyeing Grant's hand closely.

Grant chuckles quietly. "I see you've figured out that something's going on with mommy. She's having a baby." He smiles. "And I promise you I won't hurt either of them."

"Did you just call me mommy in regards to our dog?"

Grant looks up to see Skye's head tilted to look at him through half-asleep eyes. "Um, yes?" he responds.

Skye smiles. "Hmm. Interesting."

Grant stands up straight and moves so he's sitting on the edge of the bed facing her. "Guess it just slipped out. It wasn't weird, was it?"

Skye shakes her head and breathes in deeply. "Nope. It was actually kind of sweet. Besides, technically, I am a mommy. But the thing that actually makes me a mommy hasn't arrived yet."

Grant nods. "Very true."

Skye takes a deep breath in. "So what did you come up here for?" she asks him, reaching out to grab his hand, playing with his fingers absentmindedly.

"I was actually looking for you to see what you wanted me to make for lunch."

"Ah. Well I have no idea what I want. I just know that I'm really hungry. So surprise me."

He raises an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She nods. "Absolutely."

"Alright. One lunch surprise it is." He leans down to press a kiss to her temple and then stands up from the bed. "Do you want me to bring it up to you when it's done?"

Skye shakes her head. "No. I'll come down in just a minute."

"Okay." He turns to make his way to the door when Skye calls out to him. He stops and turns around. "Yeah?"

"Since we're basically Max's parents now, and you called me mommy in regards to him, that means that our baby will be sort of like a sibling for him, right?"

Grant just chuckles. "If it's what you want, then sure."

Skye smiles and sits up slightly, reaching out to rub Max's head. "You're gonna be a big brother soon, Max," she says to the puppy. "And I know you're going to be the best big brother ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> They've got a cute little puppy now! That scene was inspired by a similar scene in an AU that a friend of mine and I created a while back.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	28. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya. This one's a pretty fun one. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey Skye, watch what I got him to do."

Lifting her head from her laptop screen, Skye smiles at the sight of Grant and Max standing together down in the front lawn.

Grant extends one hand in front of him, palm flat out towards Max. "Okay, Max, stay there. Now sit." Max instantly goes down on his back legs as Grant turns his hand palm down, staring up at Grant as he sits on the grass. Grant moves his hand down towards the lawn. "Lay down." Max lowers the upper half of his body until he's stretched out on the ground. Grant turns one finger in a circle. "Now roll over." Max takes a quick moment and then he rolls over completely and sits back up, staring up at Grant patiently, panting a little. "Good boy," Grant says with a smile. "Now...go get mom." He thrusts his hand out towards Skye. Max jumps up onto all fours and darts across the lawn to the porch. He quickly trots up the steps, stumbling a little, and then pads over to where Skye is lounging in the porch swing, her laptop open in her lap.

Skye lets out a small laugh as she smiles down at the puppy. "Great job, Max." She sets her laptop next to her on the swing and then reaches down to lift Max up into her lap. She runs her fingers through his fur and smiles as he settles himself in her lap, his head resting comfortably against her stomach.

"You got him?" Grant asks as he walks up the porch steps.

"Yeah."

"Great. I'm going to go inside and take a quick shower. You good out here?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Okay." He leans down and presses a quick kiss to her lips, and rubs Max's head, before making his way inside the house.

"You are such a good boy, Max," Skye says to the dog, ruffling his fur and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Yes you are. You are so small but you're already the absolute best dog ever. And I love you so much, Max."

"Oh my goodness. That is such a cute dog."

Skye lifts her head and smiles when she sees Carol standing out on the sidewalk.

"Hey," she says.

"Hi," Carol says back, casually strolling towards her. "I see you two got a dog." She nods with her head towards Max as she reaches the bottom steps, leaning against the railing.

Skye nods. "We did. His name is Max; we just got him a few days ago."

"Well he is absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks. We like to think he's pretty great." She glances down at Max for a moment before looking back up at Carol. "He seems to be very protective of my stomach, too. He actually growled at Grant the first few times after we got him whenever Grant tried to come near me or touch my stomach."

Carol lets out a small laugh. "That makes sense. A lot of dogs can be really protective when one of their owners is pregnant. I've heard so many stories about grown dogs being super protective over unborn babies. Never heard that many stories involving puppies, though."

Skye smiles down at her puppy. "Guess we just got a special one, then."

"Yeah, guess you did." Carol takes a deep breath. "So, how are you feeling?"

Skye breathes in deeply. "Pretty okay, actually. Haven't had any morning sickness recently."

"That's good. So does that mean you'd be up to coming to a party next weekend?"

"What kind of party?" Skye asks.

"Just a little barbecue we like to do every summer, invite some of the neighbors over. It's usually pretty fun."

"Well it definitely sounds like it could be something we might enjoy," Skye says. "What time should we come over?"

"Does 5:30 work for you? We usually start with dinner and then just hang out for a few hours."

"5:30's perfect. I'll make sure Grant knows."

"Excellent. Everyone else is looking forward to meeting the both of you. And feel free to bring your puppy over. There'll be some kids there so I'm sure they'd love to play with a dog."

Skye nods. "Duly noted. We'll see you next week at 5:30."

Carol smiles. "Great. See you then." She gives Skye a small wave as she turns and walks back towards her own house.

Turning her attention back on the puppy in her lap, Skye scratches Max behind the ears and drops a kiss to the top of his head. "I think I'm getting hungry," she says to the dog. "What about you? Are you getting hungry too, boy?"

Max lets out a soft yip.

Skye laughs quietly. "That's what I thought. Come on." She nods with her head towards the house, gently nudging Max down off of her lap.

Gathering her things together, she stands from the swing and makes her way inside, right behind Max.

* * *

"So what exactly is this party we're going to?" Grant asks his girlfriend as they stand in the middle of their bedroom getting ready.

"It's a barbecue," Skye replies from where she's sitting on the bed brushing out her hair as she reads over something on the open laptop in front of her. "Carol said that they do it every year with a bunch of the people in the neighborhood. This will be a great way for us to meet some more of our neighbors and maybe make a few new friends too."

Grant nods. "Ah, okay."

"It'll be fun, babe. It's a barbecue, those are usually pretty fun." She pulls her hair up into a tight bun on top of her head.

"Well aside from the two Fourth of July parties for your work, I haven't been to too many barbecues in my life," he tells her.

She closes the lid of her laptop as she stands from the bed and walks over to him, rising up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. She smiles at him when she pulls away. "Then we'll just have to make sure that you have as much fun as possible at this one."

He smiles back at her. "Yes we will."

Skye presses another quick kiss to his lips before stepping away from him. She moves out of the bedroom and down the stairs to see Max sitting eagerly by the front door, his tail wagging quickly behind him.

"Hey there, Max," she says, kneeling down in front of him and rubbing his head affectionately. "Are you excited to go to the party too?" she asks the dog.

Max lets out a soft bark.

"I think that's a yes," Grant says as he descends the stairs.

Skye stands up fully and smiles at him. "You all ready to go, then?" she asks him.

He nods his head. "I am."

"Great. Let's go."

Grant leans down to lift Max off the ground as Skye pulls open the front door, being sure to grab her keys off the hook as she steps out onto the porch. Grant steps out behind her, cradling Max in his arms, and pulls the door shut, making sure it's locked behind him.

They make their way down the porch and towards Carol's backyard, their hands clasped tightly together, Grant cradling Max comfortably in one arm, despite the puppy wiggling trying to get to the ground.

"Calm down, Max," Skye speaks to the puppy as they move towards Carol's house. "As soon as we get to Carol's you can run around in the grass all you want, I promise."

Max lets out a soft bark in response, wiggling again to try and get down.

Skye reaches out and rubs the top of the puppy's head. "We're almost there, boy," she says before leaning against Grant the rest of the short way there across the sidewalk.

Stepping through the gate into the backyard, Grant and Skye are immediately greeted by a group of people gathered together in the backyard. Some are sitting in lawn chairs, some are standing over near the barbecue grill, others, mainly the kids, are running around in the grass.

Max lets out a few yips again and wiggles in Grant's arms.

"Puppy!" one kid yells excitedly before a hoard of children run towards them, huge grins on their faces the whole way.

"Hi there," Skye says to the kids with a small smile on her face.

"Is that your puppy?" one little girl asks.

"Sure is," Skye says with a proud smile. "We just got him about a week ago."

"What's his name?" a little boy asks.

"His name is Max," Grant answers, gently rubbing the dog's head. "Do you guys want to play with him?"

Choruses of 'yes' resound from all the kids.

Grant smiles and bends down to set Max on the grass. "You guys all have to be careful with him though because he's still a puppy."

"We will," an older girl assures him.

"Okay." He looks down at the puppy. "Go on and play, Max." He gives the puppy a small nudge on his behind and then watches with a smile as he darts off across the lawn, all the children trailing after him.

Standing back up, Grant wraps his arm around Skye's waist and holds her close.

"You're going to be such a great dad," she tells him in a soft voice.

Grant looks down at her and smiles. "Thanks." He leans down to give her a quick kiss.

"Oh I'm so glad you two could make it."

Grant and Skye turn their heads to see Carol approaching them with a smile.

"Carol, hey," Skye says. "Thanks again for inviting us."

Carol waves her off. "Of course. And how are you feeling?"

Skye shrugs. "Today's a good day."

"That's great to hear. Are you two up for meeting some of the other neighbors?"

Skye nods. "Absolutely."

Carol smiles. "Excellent. Follow me." She turns around and makes her way through the yard, towards the group of people sitting in lawn chairs. Grant and Skye clasp hands and follow behind her.

"Ladies," Carol speaks up to the women in the chairs, "this is Grant and Skye, they just moved in next door. Grant, Skye, this is Paula, Brenda, Kathy, and Monica. We're all in book club together."

"Book club?" Skye asks.

Carol nods. "Yes. I know it may seem a little cliché, but it's fun. You should definitely come and join us sometime, Skye."

Skye smiles. "I'm not much of a book reader, computers are more my speed, but I will definitely consider it."

Carol smiles. "That's great. Grant, why don't you go over to the grill and meet some of the guys. Skye, you can join us ladies over here, get to know some of them a little better."

Skye looks up at her boyfriend. "That cool with you?"

He nods. "Of course." He drops a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll see you later." He gives her a small smile and then makes his way over towards the group of men standing around the grill.

"That's a very handsome man you have yourself, Skye," the woman with dark red hair, Kathy, speaks up.

Skye smiles as she sits down on an empty lawn chair. "Thanks. I like to think so too."

"How did you two meet?" the woman with platinum blonde hair, Brenda, asks her.

She shifts in her seat. "Oh, um, I actually bumped into his older brother on the street once, very briefly. But he and I didn't actually interact with each other until he approached me when I was sitting outside a café and my laptop had died. He started talking to me but he was very cocky so I didn't give him very much of my time." She takes a deep breath. "But then, we saw each other again two more times just out and about, and I asked him to be my date to my company's Fourth of July party. We also made things official that night, decided to try being a real couple. We've been together for just over a year now."

"Wow," the woman with strawberry blond hair, Monica, speaks up. "That's a great story. And forgive me if I'm wrong or anything, but is that Grant Ward, one of the members of Hydra?"

Skye nods and swallows. "Yes, he is. But I promise you he's not like all those other guys."

"Well obviously," Monica says. "He's with you and he's here. I don't think any of those other Hydra guys would do this."

"They definitely would not," Skye says, shaking her head. She lets a small smile grace her lips. "I certainly got the best one of them."

.

.

.

"Well," Skye says as she and Grant make their way back towards their own house later that night, Max sitting comfortably in the crook of Grant's arm, "I think today was quite the success."

Grant nods in agreement. "It most definitely was. Everyone there was pretty nice. And none of them seemed to care too much after they realized who I am."

Skye smiles. "That just goes to show that we picked the right neighborhood to settle down in."

"Yes we did."

They step up onto the porch and Grant pulls out his keys, inserting the house key into the lock and pushing the door open.

"It was definitely a fun party," Skye tells her boyfriend as she steps inside the house. "But this baby is already making me really tired, so I need to go to bed."

Grant smiles and drops a kiss to the top of her head. "You go on up. I'm gonna make sure Max is all situated and then I'll join you."

She smiles and rises up onto her toes to brush her lips against his. "Don't take too long."

"I thought you just said you were tired," he says with a small chuckle.

She shrugs as she pulls away from him. "Only time will tell." She turns around and makes her way up the staircase towards their bedroom.

Turning towards the dining room, Grant walks into the other room, over to where Max's area is in the corner of the room, containing his kennel, a bed, and his food dishes, as well as a few of his toys.

Setting the puppy down on the ground, he bends down a bit and rubs him on the head affectionately for a minute. "You be a good boy, okay? It's nighttime so it's time for you to get in your bed and go to sleep."

Max tilts his head at Grant for a moment before turning around and stepping into his bed. He just stands there for a moment, looking at Grant.

Grant smiles. "Good boy, Max. Now lie down and go to sleep."

Max hesitates for another moment before crouching down in his bed and then laying all the way down, stretching himself out before relaxing into the bed.

"I'll see you in the morning, boy," Grant whispers, standing up straight. He throws the dog a small smile before turning around and making his way towards the staircase.

He walks up the stairs and moves down the hallway towards the master bedroom at the end. Pushing the door open he steps through and smiles when he sees Skye lying on her back in the bed, one arm extended out towards his side of the bed and the other hand resting on her abdomen.

He crosses to the dresser to change out of his clothes and into his pajamas; a simple pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He tosses his dirty clothes into the hamper and then moves over to the bed, pulling the covers back on his side and climbing in.

As soon as he's in the bed, Skye rolls over and curls up against him, wrapping one arm around his torso and tangling her legs with his.

Grant smiles and wraps his arm around her, holding her close and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Sleep tight, Skye," he says quietly. "I love you."

Skye lets out a small, content sigh as she shifts on the bed to get more comfortable. "Love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Also, I'm working on something that I think is pretty fun, so if you want to help, all you gotta do is let me know in your review why you love/ship Skyeward. I already know why I love/ship them, but I wanna know why you do too. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	29. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everything can be all rainbows and butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya.
> 
> This one's pretty heavy, I think, so you may want to prepare yourself for what's to come. But hey, not everything can be all rainbows and butterflies all the time.
> 
> Enjoy!

Making her way back towards the dining room table, a cup of herbal tea in her hands, Skye sits back down in front of her laptop and takes a sip of the tea before setting it down next to her. Her eyes focus back on the screen in front of her as she scrolls down the open page and taps a few keys on the keyboard.

Her phone going off next to her on the table pulls her attention to it briefly. She picks up the device and glances at the caller ID to see Grant's name and photo showing on the screen before holding it up to her ear, continuing to click away at her laptop.

"Hey, babe," she says with a smile. "Did you get the list of things I sent you? You never texted me back after I sent it. Also just wait until you get home and see the ridiculously cute design I came up with for the nursery. It's got elephants everywhere and it's probably the cutest thing ever in the history of the world; I think you're really going to love it when you see it."

_"And I'm sure it looks absolutely amazing. Though, to be honest, I've never seen the appeal of elephants. They aren't really that cute."_

Skye blanches as her hand stills on the mouse to her computer. "Who is this?" she asks, fearing she already knows the answer to her own question.

The person on the other end laughs darkly and sends a chill down her spine. _"What? Don't recognize the voice of your baby's favorite uncle? I'm actually a little offended. How come I didn't get the memo, huh? You know I'll make an amazing uncle, Skye. I'll teach the little rugrat everything I know."_

"Joey," she states. "You stay the hell away from me and my baby."

" _Aww, Skye, don't be like that."_

"Why are you calling me? What do you want?"

_"Just to teach Grant a little lesson. Nobody turns their back on Hydra for anything. Not even for some little tramp who's just trying to manipulate him and take him away from his family."_

She furrows her brows and ignores his comment about family. "What do you mean you're going to teach him a lesson?"

_"That's a really nice car you have him driving, by the way. What's the mileage like on that thing?"_

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Skye ends the call and quickly goes into her contact list, finding Grant's number and clicking on it. She holds the phone to her ear as she stands from her seat and moves towards the window, pulling the curtain back more to look outside at the street in front of the house.

"Come on, come on," she mutters to herself. "Answer your damn phone, already."

After a few rings she finally hears his voice. _"Hello?"_

"Grant." She breathes out in relief, turning slightly away from the window. "Oh thank goodness."

_"Skye? Is everything okay?"_

"Where are you?" she asks him.

_"Turning onto our street right now. Why? What's wrong?"_

"I just got a call from Joey," she tells him. "But I thought it was you because that's what my caller ID said. He said something about teaching you a lesson. He knows about the baby and I think he also knows you're planning on leaving Hydra permanently. Just please hurry up and get back here so I can stop worrying."

_"I just pulled into the driveway. I'll be right inside."_

"Okay. I love you."

_"I love you too."_

Pulling the phone down from her ear, Skye holds it tightly in her hands and looks back out the window, letting out a relieved sigh when she sees Grant stepping out of the car.

Moving to the front door, she pulls it open and steps out onto the porch, one hand resting on her barely there bump as she slides her phone into her back pocket. Max sidles right up against her legs, letting out a few small yips when he sees Grant.

"I got worried," she tells her boyfriend.

"Hey, that's perfectly okay," he says as he makes his way across the sidewalk towards the house. "I'm really sorry that Joey freaked you out like that. I should have known that he'd try and do something when he found out about the baby but I was really hoping that he wo—"

A loud engine drawing closer cuts Grant off and pulls his and Skye's attention towards the street to see an all black motorcycle race up to the sidewalk, skidding to a halt at the curb right in front of them.

The driver, wearing an all-black helmet with a blacked out visor, pulls a hand gun out of his inside jacket pocket, aims it, pulls the trigger twice, and then speeds away as fast as he arrived.

Skye jumps and screams when she hears the gunshots go off, watching in horror as Grant looks at her with wide eyes before sinking down to the cement below him, one hand pressing tightly to the wound in his abdomen.

"Grant!" Skye screams as she rushes down the porch steps to his side, kneeling down next to him on the cement, Max right there with her, his tiny wet nose pushing against Grant's arm as he lets out bark after bark. "No!"

Skye immediately pulls Grant's head up into her lap and holds him close, pressing one hand to his wound. "Somebody do something! Please!" she shouts at her neighbors all standing around before looking back down at her boyfriend, feeling the blood from his body already beginning to seep through her fingers.

She rubs her other hand along his slowly paling face, caressing his cheek gently as she speaks softly to him, "Grant, honey, stay with me, okay? Stay with me just a little bit longer. Don't you dare leave me to raise your kid alone, you hear me?"

"Skye…" Grant chokes out.

"I'm right here," she tells him. "I'm right here, Grant, I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you," he rasps. "So much. Baby too."

"I love you too," she says through the tears falling down her cheeks. "And so will this baby once it gets here. So don't you _dare_ think about making this child grow up without their daddy. Because that is not going to happen. Do you understand me? I'm not letting you get out of this so easily."

Hearing the loud piercing sirens of an ambulance approaching, Skye lifts her head to see the bright and fast flashing of the lights coming around the corner. Then she sees the ambulance coming towards them and lets out a shaky breath.

The ambulance pulls up right next to the edge of the sidewalk and the paramedics jump out of the back, quickly moving towards her.

"What happened?" one of them asks her, kneeling down next to her, already beginning to check over Grant and his injury.

"He was shot," she explains through her tears. "In the stomach."

"Okay." He turns his head over his shoulder. "GSW to the abdomen. Let's get that gurney over here."

A gurney appears next to them and Skye has to actively tell herself to let the medics take him, she doesn't want to let him go. She watches as they wheel him over to the ambulance and lift him inside the back of it.

"Ma'am."

Skye turns her head to see two people walking towards her, a tall, dark-skinned man and a tall, blonde woman, both dressed very professionally.

"I'm Detective Alphonso Mackenzie," the man tells her. "This is my partner, Detective Barbara Morse," he says, gesturing to the woman next to him.

"Skye Coulson," she tells them her name, looking past them at the ambulance.

"Okay, Skye," Detective Morse speaks up, "can you tell us what happened?"

"My boyfriend was just shot," she says, trying to fight another onslaught of tears. "Look, can I go, please?"

"We just need to ask you a few questions," Detective Mackenzie says to her.

"Can it wait?" she asks. "I need to be with my boyfriend. Please."

"It'll only take a minute," Morse tells her.

"Miss, if you're going to come with us we need to get going," one of the paramedics leans in and interrupts.

Skye looks to the two detectives. "Please."

Morse sighs and nods. "Fine. Go. We'll get in contact with you later."

"Thank you," Skye breathes out. "Carol," she says to her friend. "Can you keep an eye on Max for me until I get back, please?"

The woman steps forward. "Of course." She bends down and picks up the puppy, holding him securely in her arms. Max squirms in her arms and lets out a few yips in Skye's direction as he tries to get down.

"Thank you," Skye says with a grateful smile. "All his stuff is in the dining room, call me if you need something." She turns and quickly makes her way towards the ambulance, climbing up inside the back of it and sitting down on one of the benches along the side. She reaches out to grab one of Grant's hands and holds it tightly in both of hers, lifting it to press a kiss to his palm.

"I love you so much," she whispers through her tears. "Please don't leave me."

* * *

Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, Skye unlocks it with shaky hands and goes into her contact list. Scrolling down, she taps on the name she wants and then holds the device up to her ear, waiting impatiently as it rings for the person on the other end to pick up.

 _"Hello?"_ she finally hears the familiar voice.

"Mommy?" she chokes out, through her tears.

_"Skye? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"_

"I'm uh, Grant's...he was...and I'm..."

_"Breathe, sweetie. Take a deep breath and calm down and then tell me what's going on."_

Skye closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, taking a moment. Opening her eyes again she speaks into the phone, "I'm at the hospital."

_"What? Is everything okay with the baby?"_

Skye nods. "Yeah, mom. The baby and I are fine. It's Grant."

_"What happened?"_

"He was coming home from the store, he was right outside our house and somebody drove by on a motorcycle and shot him."

Melinda gasps on the other line. _"Oh my goodness. How is he?"_

She shakes her head. "I don't know. He's in surgery right now. I just, I just really needed to talk to someone."

_"Well I'm glad you called me. Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart. Grant definitely seems like a fighter. He's not going to leave you and that baby if he can help it."_

"I know. I'm just really scared, mom."

_"And it's okay to be scared. It's perfectly okay. Do you have people there who can help you out?"_

She nods. "Yeah. My neighbor Carol and her husband said they're always willing to help out. That's what she told me when we first moved in. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to help out as long as we need it. She's actually watching our dog right now since I'm here."

_"That's good. I'm glad you have someone there."_

"Me too," Skye says. "And I have all my friends from work who I'm sure would drop anything to help me and Grant."

_"You make sure to tell them how grateful I am. Your father and I aren't planning on coming into town until later in your pregnancy but I wish we could get the time off from work so we could be there for you right now."_

"I know. I really miss you guys."

_"We miss you too, sweetheart."_

"Miss Coulson?"

Lifting her head, Skye sees Detectives Mackenzie and Morse making their way towards her.

"Mom, I have to go, I'll call you later to let you know what's going on."

_"Okay. I love you, baby girl."_

"I love you too."

Pulling the phone down away from her ear, Skye ends the call and slides the phone back into her pocket.

"Detectives," she says with a small, polite nod to the two people standing in front of her, sitting up a little taller in her seat.

"How are you holding up?" Detective Mackenzie asks her.

"As well as can be expected," she breathes out. "All things considering."

He nods. "Right, well, how's your boyfriend doing?"

Skye shakes her head. "Don't know yet. Grant's still in surgery."

"Hang on. Do you mean Grant Ward?" Detective Morse asks. "Of Hydra? I thought he looked kind of familiar when I saw him earlier. You're actually dating him? We've been trying to nail all of those guys for years. We've only ever been able to collar some of the guys on the lower end of the totem pole for petty stuff, never anything huge."

"Yeah, well, while you reminisce about all of your 'fun times' chasing down Hydra, my boyfriend, the man I love, and father of my child, is currently fighting for his life because he was shot on the sidewalk outside of our house today."

"Mack," Detective Morse whispers to her partner, "do you wanna take charge of this? You've always been able to connect better."

Mack nods and focuses on Skye. "We're sorry," he says, stepping forward and sitting down in the chair next to her. "I don't think either of us can really imagine how hard this must be for you right now."

"It sucks," she tells him. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"We talked to some of your neighbors but none of them were really able to tell us what happened. Most of them just heard gunshots and what sounded like a motorcycle before they went outside. Can you, by any chance, tell us what happened? It's okay if it's too difficult. Just take your time."

Skye nods and is quiet for a moment before she speaks up, "I uh, I was at home with our dog Max when I got a phone call."

"And where was Grant?" Mack asks.

"Out running some errands. We're trying to fix the place up a little and make some improvements before the baby gets here."

"How far along are you?" Morse asks her.

"A little over three months," Skye answers with a small smile, rubbing one hand over her stomach. "Completely unplanned and unexpected, but we wouldn't change what happened. Not for anything."

"Well congratulations," Mack says.

Skye gives him a half smile. "Thanks. Grant was really excited when I told him. He even promised me that he's gonna leave Hydra for good so he can be with me and the baby. That's what he's been working on. He's wanted out for a while but the baby and I were the right incentive for him to actually go through with it. We even bought ourselves a place far away from where Hydra operates, on the complete opposite side of town. And now...now he might not even be able to meet his baby."

Mack places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, the doctors are doing everything they can to save your boyfriend."

Skye sniffles. "I know. It's just, it's really hard. I got so worried when Joey called and threatened Grant."

"His brother threatened him?" Morse asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. He's the one who called me earlier. I looked at the caller ID and thought it was Grant because that's what it said so I just started talking. Then Joey said he was going to teach Grant a lesson."

"He's the one who shot Grant?" Mack asks her.

"I don't know, maybe. I didn't see their face. They were on a motorcycle and wore a helmet with one of those blacked out visors the whole time."

"Do you happen to know what kind of bike it was? Did you catch a partial plate number? Or maybe something to help identify the specific bike?"

Skye shakes her head. "Sorry, I don't know. It all happened really fast and I was just so focused on Grant and making sure he was okay."

Mack nods. "That's alright, we understand. Is there anything else that you can tell us? Is there someone Joey may have gotten to do this for him?"

"Honestly? It could really be anyone. He may not be the Head, but Joey has a lot of pull within Hydra. Those guys listen to him without any questions. Even though Grant was one of their own, he uh, he was gonna leave so they probably aren't too happy about that. They're probably completely pissed off about the whole thing. Nobody leaves Hydra unless they're in a body bag."

The detectives take a deep breath.

"Wow, okay," Detective Morse says.

"Skye Coulson?"

"I'm right here," Skye says, standing up and moving past the two detectives towards the doctor. "What's going on? Is Grant okay?"

The doctor nods. "He's fine."

"Oh thank goodness," Skye breathes out, her shoulders relaxing.

"It was a little touch-and-go a few times, but we managed to get him stabilized and things went well."

"Can I go see him?"

"In a moment," the doctor says. "The surgery went very well and we were able to get the bullet out, thankfully it didn't go in too deep and didn't hit any major organs either. With some time in recovery he's going to be perfectly fine."

"Thank you so much. Can I go see him now?"

The doctor nods. "Of course. I'll take you back there."

Skye nods and silently follows the doctor down the hallway towards Grant's hospital room.

When they reach the correct room, Skye stops in the doorway when she sees Grant. He's lying in a hospital bed on the other side of the room, the powder blue hospital blanket pulled up underneath of his arms.

Skye moves into the room and immediately takes up the seat next to Grant's bed, pulling the chair closer and grabbing his hand in hers. "Hey, Grant. I'm right here, babe." She turns her head to the doctor. "Do you know when he's going to wake up?"

"As soon as the anesthesia wears off," the doctor tells her. "But even then it still might take a little while."

"Okay, thanks. I'm uh, I'm just gonna sit here with him. If that's okay."

The doctor nods. "Of course it is. Just press the red button next to his bed for a nurse if you need anything at all."

"I will, thanks." She turns back to her boyfriend, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"Skye?"

She turns her head to see the two detectives standing in the doorway.

"I answered all of your questions already," she says to them.

Detective Mackenzie nods. "We know. We just wanted to ask your boyfriend some questions, see if he can tell us anything."

"He's not awake right now," Skye tells them. "He won't be awake until sometime after the anesthesia wears off. But uh, if you give me a number I can call you when he wakes up."

"That would be great," Detective Morse says. She reaches into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulls out a card, stepping forward and handing it to Skye.

Skye takes the card and holds onto it. "I uh, I guess I'll see you guys again soon."

"Yeah." Detective Mackenzie nods as he and Detective Morse make their way out of the room.

Skye turns her attention back to her boyfriend, holding his hand tightly in hers. "Thanks for not leaving me," she says quietly. "I don't think I'd be able to do this whole parenting thing on my own. I want our baby to grow up with their daddy, so I'm really glad that you're still here. I love so much, Grant, so much."

* * *

"Are you're sure you're feeling okay? You don't need me to get you anything? Maybe some water? Or something to eat? Or maybe—"

"Skye," Grant cuts her off with a soft look. "I told you I'm fine. All I need is for you to stay right here beside me while I recover."

She smiles at him. "You know there's nowhere else I'd rather be." She lifts herself out of her seat and leans over to give him a kiss. She smiles against his lips. "I love you. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too," he tells her. "But you didn't really think I was going to leave you that easily, did you?"

She lets out a breath as she sits back in her seat. "No, I guess not."

"Good," Grant says with a smile. "Because I told you I'm sticking around for a long time and I meant it."

"Knock knock."

Grant and Skye turn their heads towards the hospital room door to see Detectives Mackenzie and Morse standing in the doorway.

"You're here," Skye breathes out.

"Said we would be," Detective Morse tells her as she and her partner move further into the room.

"Skye, who are they?" Grant asks his girlfriend, concern and worry etched on his face.

"They're detectives, babe."

Grant sucks in a breath and stiffens. "Do you really think that having two _detectives_ in the same room as me is such a good idea?"

She places a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Grant, they're here to help you."

"I've been associated with Hydra my entire life, Skye. Detectives don't help me, they try to arrest me or kill me as soon as they see me."

"We're here to investigate the shooting," Morse tells him. "That's all, I promise. We just want to get the guy that did that to you." She gestures to his stomach.

"Well there won't be much investigating to do," Grant says, shifting in the bed. "I know who did it."

"Your brother?" Mack asks.

Grant nods. "More than likely it was him. He hates my guts because he found out that I want to get out of Hydra."

"Was he the one who actually shot you?" Morse asks.

"Probably. But he also could have told someone else to do it. My dad might be the head of Hydra, but Joey definitely runs things in there."

"Is there anyone in particular he would have had do this?"

"Um, maybe. I don't know, though. A lot of those guys will do anything Joey says without arguing because they're scared of him."

"Wait," Skye says. "I uh, when Joey called me he made a comment about our car. I think he might have been following you."

"Wouldn't be too surprising."

"Mr. Ward, do you—"

"It's just Grant," he says.

"Grant, do you know if your brother owns a motorcycle?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. Most of the higher ups in Hydra do. But Joey's is customized."

"Okay, can you tell me what it looks like?"

"It's just a standard black bike. But it has a large dark red Hydra symbol painted on the front of it. So people know it's him when he's coming."

"How very egotistical of him," Skye comments.

"Would he ever let anyone else drive his bike?" Morse asks.

Grant shakes his head. "No, he doesn't let anyone go near that thing."

"Alright. And do you think he'd try to come back and finish the job?"

"Possibly. Joey's always been kind of unstable. I wouldn't put it past him to try again."

"The doctor said they recovered a .45 caliber bullet from your wound with characteristics consistent with a Glock 37," Mack says. "Would Joey have access to that kind of gun?"

Grant nods. "Well yeah. Joey owns a Glock 37. He's the only one in Hydra who does. Everyone else just has regular handguns."

"That's very good news for this investigation," Mack says. "I promise you both that we'll do our best to find your brother and put him away for a very long time so he can't hurt you again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Grant says bitterly.

"Grant," Skye hisses.

"Hey, I'm sorry, babe. But I learned a long time ago not to trust the words of cops. So forgive me if I'm not too inclined to believe their promise."

"That's fine," Morse tells him. "You don't have to believe us. Doesn't mean we won't keep our word."

"Well I'll believe it when Joey's behind bars. So good luck. You'll definitely need it with him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> I told you it wasn't going to be all rainbows and butterflies, but things are okay now.
> 
> ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER AND THEN THE EPILOGUE! AGH!
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	30. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detectives keep their promise to Grant and Skye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya.
> 
> I wanna apologize for not updating this on Monday like I usually do. But I spent the last few days binge-watching Chicago PD so that's literally all I've been focused on. But I finished it this morning and then I had a job interview a little bit later but now I've got some time so I went through and made sure the chapter was good and now I'm updating. :)
> 
> This is the last big chapter before the epilogue. I may just post the epilogue in a few days instead of waiting until Monday, because it'll be the last one and it's not super long. But I haven't decided yet.
> 
> Enjoy!

"So why'd you do it, Joey?" Bobbi asks the man sitting at the metal table in the interrogation room as she slowly paces back and forth along the other side of it.

"Lady, I have no idea what you're talking about," Joey responds.

"It's Detective," she corrects him. "And I think that you do. Your brother Grant was shot outside his home yesterday." She watches as Joey freezes for a quick second before relaxing again. "I know you know something about that."

"Well I don't," he insists. "But maybe he deserved it."

She turns to him. "He deserved to be shot on the sidewalk right outside of his home while his pregnant girlfriend stood on the porch and watched?"

Joey shrugs. "Maybe. Little punk wants to leave Hydra. Nobody leaves Hydra."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Unless they're in a body bag, right?"

"Hey don't I get a lawyer or something?" Joey asks, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile on his face. "Because I think I'd like to take you up on that now."

Bobbi sighs. "Fine." She leans forward so her hands are resting on the table top and lowers her voice, "But just so you know, if it was up to me, scumbags like you wouldn't even get a lawyer."

Joey smirks. "Good thing it's not up to you, then, huh?"

Bobbi tightens her jaw and stands up straight again. She turns and makes her way out of the interrogation room, slamming the door shut behind her, and moves back out into the bull pen towards her desk.

"So he's really not going to talk," Mack remarks, stepping out of the observation room and joining Bobbi in the walk back to the bull pen.

Bobbi sighs and falls down into her chair. "No, it doesn't look like he is. The scumbag even lawyered up."

"We'll get him, Bobbi," Mack tells her, sitting down in his own chair. "It may take some time and a lot of effort, but we'll get him."

"How?" Bobbi asks her partner, throwing her hands up into the air. "None of those Hydra guys will say that he did anything because they're more terrified of what he'll do to them than they are of the cops and going to prison. We can't find the gun he used to shoot Grant even though we searched that place very thoroughly. We found the bike at Hydra's place but none of the security footage we have actually proves that it was him on the bike because the helmet is on the whole time and he's inside before he takes it off." She sighs. "That scumbag in there is going to walk and get away with attempted murder because we have no physical evidence to tie him to this. And we don't have any witnesses that actually saw him fire the gun."

"I think I might be able to help you with all that."

Bobbi and Mack look up to see a young man with dark hair and eyes slowly walking towards them, a uniformed officer escorting him back.

"He came in and said he had some information for you," the officer behind the man says. "We searched him, he's clean."

"You're Andrew Ward," Bobbi says after a quick moment, standing up from her chair and moving towards him.

"Yeah, I am." He shifts on his feet. "I uh, everyone at the house has been talking about how you guys brought Joey in earlier."

Bobbi nods. "We did."

"You probably have him in an interrogation room, right? Has he said anything yet?" he asks.

"Afraid we can't share that with you, Andrew," Mack speaks up.

Andrew nods. "Right. But I'm guessing he's probably asked for a lawyer by now and hasn't said anything about what happened. Joey's not very easily intimated, so you probably won't get to him in the usual ways."

"You let us worry about that," Bobbi says.

Andrew nods again. "Of course. But uh, I think I can help you pin him to shooting Grant."

"And why would you want us to put your brother in prison?" Bobbi asks him with furrowed brows, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Because he deserves it," Andrew says bluntly. "Joey may be my older brother, but he's sure as hell never acted like it in any way that really matters." Andrew shifts on his feet. "Joey's always been a bit of a hot head. He was always causing trouble, even before he was fully inducted into Hydra. When he rose to the top he just got worse. Grant always protected me from him, though. He did the things that Joey wanted me to do because he didn't want me to go down that path like he did."

"Really?" Bobbi asks.

Andrew nods. "Yeah. And I know that Grant's trying to get out of Hydra. He told me about Skye when they started seeing each other. And then about the baby after he found out. I'm gonna be an uncle." Andrew gives a small smile. "Grant promised me that he'd try and get me out of Hydra too so I don't have to stay there without him. I'm not as tough as he is; I won't survive being in Hydra when he leaves."

Bobbi nods slowly, her brows furrowed together. "Why don't you have a seat? You can tell us everything you know about the shooting."

Andrew nods. "Yeah, okay." He follows Bobbi over to her desk, sitting down in the chair she pulls up next to it.

Bobbi sits down in her own chair and Mack leans against the edge of her desk, the both of them facing Andrew.

"So, Andrew," Bobbi begins, "what can you tell us about all of this? What do you actually know?"

Andrew swallows. "It was just a few days ago. I heard Joey talking with some of the other guys, the ones he trusts the most. He found out about Grant's baby, and about him wanting to get out."

"How did he find out?" Mack asks. "I thought Grant didn't tell him."

"He didn't. But Joey's got eyes and ears everywhere. People he scares into telling him things so he can stay informed about what's going on in the part of town Hydra controls."

"Okay. Go on," Bobbi encourages him.

"Joey was pissed," Andrew continues to explains. "Like, really pissed at Grant. More pissed than I've ever seen him before about anything. He was telling most of the guys how he was going to teach Grant a lesson, make him sorry for wanting to have a life and a family away from Hydra."

"Did he specifically say he was going to go after Grant?"

Andrew shakes his head. "No, he didn't. But I knew it'd have to be either Grant or Skye that he was talking about going after. Then this morning I saw him getting on his bike. He had his gun with him; his Glock. He has a regular hand gun like everyone else that he carries around every day, but his Glock is saved for what he deems to be special occasions. He keeps it really well hidden so that no one else can find it and use it."

Bobbi leans back towards Mack. "That's why we couldn't locate it when we tossed the place."

"But I know where he keeps it," Andrew tells them. "He doesn't know that I've seen where he puts it and I'm one hundred percent positive he put it back there after he shot Grant. I heard him laughing with some of the guys over a few beers. I couldn't hear everything clearly enough, but I heard him talking about the shooting. And then Skye called me and told me that Grant had been shot. I put two and two together. My oldest brother is a horrible person, detectives. I want him locked away for a really long time. So he can't ever hurt anyone else."

Bobbi eyes the young man up and down for a moment before relaxing slightly in her seat. She reaches behind her and grabs a yellow legal pad and black pen. She sets them down in front of Andrew. "Write down everything you just told us about the shooting and then sign it." She stands from her seat and makes her way to another area of the bull pen, Andrew still in her view. Mack follows behind her.

"Do you believe him?" Mack asks her after a quiet minute.

"I don't know," Bobbi replies with a heavy sigh. "There's a large part of me says that says he's lying about something and is just playing us with this whole thing."

"And the smaller part?" he asks.

"Really wants to believe him." She turns to look at him. "I mean think about it, Mack. Why would he come here, risking his life if Hydra were to ever find out he flipped, to confess that he saw and heard Joey planning the shooting?"

Mack shakes his head. "I don't know. But he's bad news, Bobbi. All those Hydra guys are."

Bobbi nods. "Maybe so. But he's all we got at the moment so we need to use him and get whatever leads we can, even if we don't think it'll go anywhere."

"Well I don't like it."

Bobbi sighs. "Neither do I, Mack. But we have no other options here. So let's use him as much as we possibly can for this thing."

"Fine. Whatever you say, partner. Just promise me we'll be careful, alright?"

"I promise. I just really want to put a nail in this Hydra thing once and for all. Those guys have terrorized too many people and now a woman almost lost the man she loves and her baby almost lost its father. If we can get Joey for this then I'm sure we can get the rest of them pretty quickly and put them all away. Grant and Andrew will probably help us with that too."

"I sure hope you're right, partner."

"So do I."

"I'm finished, Detectives."

Bobbi and Mack turn their heads to see Andrew looking over at them, setting the pen down on the pad of paper.

"Alright, kid," Bobbi says as she and Mack make their way back towards him. "Time for a little road trip and then a scavenger hunt."

"Where are we going?" he asks her, standing up from his chair.

"To find ourselves a gun."

* * *

Grant lets out a deep, content sigh, wincing slightly in pain, as Skye pulls their car into the driveway of their house. He continues to stare out the window as his girlfriend shifts the gear up into park and then shuts the engine off.

"What is it?" Skye asks him.

He turns his head to look at her. "Hmm?"

"What was that sigh?" she asks.

"It was a happy sigh, I promise," he tells her with a small smile. "With only a tiny amount of pain." He reaches over and places his hand over hers where it's resting on the center console. "I'm just really glad to be back home with you and the baby and Max. I really hate hospitals."

Skye turns her hand over, linking their fingers together. She smiles at him. "We're glad you're home too. I was really scared back there, Grant. I didn't know if you were going to make it or not and I started thinking about how I might have had to raise this baby on my own and I didn't want it to happen."

Grant reaches out with his other hand and places it on her cheek, wiping away the single tear that fell down from her eye. "Hey. I'm here, right?" Skye nods. "Okay. And everything's going to be fine. I'm perfectly fine. The doctor said so. All I need is some time to rest and recover."

Skye sighs. "I know. I just...I was just really worried that I was going to have to raise this baby without you and that they wouldn't be able to do know their daddy. And I don't think I would have been able to handle any of that."

"Well you're never going to have to," he tells her. "Because I'm okay, I'm here with you, and I'm not going anywhere."

Skye smiles at him. "That makes me really happy to hear."

Grant smiles back. "And it makes me really happy to say it." He takes a deep breath. "Okay then. Should we go inside and relax for a little while?"

Skye nods. "Yes we should. And I'll go and get Max a little later after we get you all settled in. Carol's been watching him the last few days since I've been at the hospital with you."

"Well that was very nice of her."

"Yeah, it was. Stay where you are, okay? I'm gonna come around and help you out. And do not try and say that you don't need help because I know that you do."

"I'm not going to argue," he tells her with a small shake of his head.

"Good," Skye says with a curt nod. She leans forward to give him a quick kiss before turning and climbing out of the car. She walks around to the other side and pulls Grant's door open. "Alright, babe. Let's go." She reaches inside and grabs one of his arms, draping it over her shoulders as she helps him climb out and settle on his feet.

"Grant, Skye."

"Detectives," Skye says, turning slightly away from the car as she helps Grant get steady on his feet. "Hi."

"Hi," Detective Morse says. "How are you feeling?" she directs to Grant.

"Like I'm recovering from a gunshot wound," he replies.

Morse nods. "Right, of course."

"So what brings you guys by?" Skye asks them, closing the car door once Grant's completely out.

"Well, we went by the hospital but they told us you were released. We wanted to come by and give you the good news," Morse tells her.

"Okay. What's the news?"

"Joey's been arrested and charged with attempted murder," Mack tells them. "Andrew's agreed to testify to overhearing and seeing Joey plan the attack. We even have the gun that was used to shoot you. His prints are the only ones all over it, and it matches exactly with the bullet that shot you. If everything works out right and goes the way we want it to, then he's going to be going away for a very long time."

"Wow," Skye breathes out. "Really?"

Mack nods. "Really. Andrew's risking his life with Hydra to help keep your family safe."

"What's going to happen to him after the trial?" Grant asks the detectives. "He's a good kid, just got born into a crap family."

"Well, considering he's never committed more than a few misdemeanors, he should be fine," Morse explains. "Might get off easy with some community service. As long as he doesn't get into any trouble going forward."

"I'm pretty sure he won't," Grant says. "I'm just worried about what the rest of Hydra will do to him once they find out. Because they're bound to find out. This trial will no doubt be the talk of the century; everyone's going to know about it."

"He's been given the option of Witness Protection, but hasn't decided yet if he's going to take it."

"If he takes it, that means we can never see him again, right?" Skye asks. "Our baby won't know their uncle?"

Morse nods. "Unfortunately, yes. But that might not happen. He may turn down the offer and choose to just stay as he is."

"He could come and stay with us," Skye suggests.

Grant looks down at his girlfriend. "What?"

"Andrew can come and stay with us," she repeats. "Until he can find somewhere of his own to go. We have plenty of space here. And it'll be nice to have an extra pair of hands for a little while once the baby comes. And Hydra never ventures down into these parts anyways, that's why we chose to raise our baby here. I mean, he doesn't have to, if you're not comfortable with that. I just thought I'd put the option out there."

Grant shakes his head with a small smile. "No. I think it's a great idea. I'll call Andrew later and see what he thinks about it."

"Hopefully he'll take that option," Morse says. "I think it could be good for him to get away from Hydra's influence."

"So do I," Grant says.

"Well, that's all we really came by to tell you," Mack says. "We'll leave you two to get settled back in here."

"Wait," Skye calls out when the two detectives turn to go back to their car. "What about Grant? You guys aren't going to end up back here at any point to arrest him because he was part of Hydra, are you?"

Morse takes a deep breath. "As far as we're concerned, there's no physical evidence to show that Grant has ever killed anyone for Hydra. Or done anything too illegal that would warrant more than a few months jail time. And he's cut off all ties from Hydra and helped us catch his brother. So I don't see a reason to arrest him. Do you see one, Mack?"

Mack smiles and shakes his head. "No, I do not, partner."

"Then I wouldn't expect to be seeing us back here again."

Skye smiles at them with tears in her eyes. "Thank you both so much."

"Just doing our job," Mack tells them. "Good luck with your baby. And congratulations."

"Thank you," Grant says back. "We owe you so much."

Morse shakes her head. "You don't owe us anything. Like Mack said, we were just doing our job."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Skye asks them.

Morse nods. "Yeah. Live a good life, and love that baby more than you've ever loved anything or anyone else."

Grant smiles down at his girlfriend. "I think we can definitely do that." He leans down to press his lips to hers.

Skye smiles against his lips. "We most definitely can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> As I said above, I might just post the epilogue tomorrow or the next day, it all depends.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


	31. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fast forward a few months

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babes! Back again with the FINAL installment of this story. I know it's not Monday and it's only been a day since I posted the previous chapter, but this is the epilogue, it's not very long, and I want to wrap this up without waiting too long. :)
> 
> Before the chapter gets started, I just want to thank each and every one of you who has read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. I've loved writing it and posting it for you. It's definitely been a fun ride on this one with you.
> 
> Like I said, it's not a very long chapter, and it doesn't focus on Skye and Grant, not really, but it also kind of does. I just figured this would be a nice way to end the story and wrap everything up. You'll see what I mean.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Detective, I swear I'm not your guy. I didn't do anything. You've got the wrong guy."

Bobbi rolls her eyes, shoving the scruffy looking handcuffed man forward through the precinct.

"Yeah, yeah, they all say that," Mack says, following closely behind them.

"Detective Mackenzie, Detective Morse."

Both Detectives stop and turn their heads to see their sergeant walking towards them.

"Yeah, serge?" Mack asks.

"Something was left for you both at the front desk." He hands a pristine white envelope over to Bobbi, nothing on it except for some writing.

"Who left it?" she asks him as she looks at the front of the envelope, 'Detectives Morse and Mackenzie' written neatly on the front of it.

"Andrew Ward," the sergeant tells them. "He said his brother told him to leave it at the front desk for you. Any idea what it could be?"

Mack shakes his head. "No idea. Bobbi?"

Bobbi shakes her head. "Nothing comes to my mind."

"Ah, well." The sergeant shrugs his shoulders and moves back into his office, calling over his shoulder, "Let me know when you've gotten somewhere with the suspect."

"Will do, boss. Hey," Bobbi calls out to one of the uniformed officers walking by. "Get this scumbag situated in the box for us, would ya?"

The officer nods. "Yeah, sure thing." He grabs hold of the suspect and drags him through the precinct, the man struggling and protesting the whole way.

"What do you think is inside?" Mack asks Bobbi, moving to sit down at his desk.

"Only one way to find out." She moves over to sit down on the edge of Mack's desk. She flips the envelope over and rips open the seal. "Looks like it's a photo." She pulls a single photo out and smiles when she sees it. "Aww, Mack, look. Skye had her baby." She tilts the photo down for him to see. It shows Skye sitting up in a hospital bed, Grant sitting right next to her on the bed with one arm wrapped around her shoulders. Right in the center of the photo, lying in Skye's arms is a beautiful newborn baby girl with a full head of dark hair, wrapped up in a hospital issued pink blanket.

Mack smiles. "Wow. They make a pretty good looking family."

She nods her head in agreement. "They really do. I'm glad we could help keep them safe all those months ago."

"Me too," Mack says. "Best feeling in the world when doing this job."

Bobbi smiles. "That it is. I'm especially glad that Grant didn't turn out to be the huge jerk and murderer everyone always thought he was."

"Yeah. And I think all those people he relocated over the years are grateful for that as well."

"They most definitely are."

Bobbi flips the photo over to check for an inscription and smiles when she reads the handwriting on the back. _'To the Detectives who kept their word and protected our little family. Thank you. –Grant, Skye, and Jessica Katherine.'_ Leaning back, she sets the photo down on her desk, leaning it against her mug of pencils.

"Hey, partner," Mack speaks up.

Bobbi looks back at him. "Yeah?"

"There's a note in the envelope."

"What does it say?"

" _Because you had such a huge part in keeping our family safe and together, we want to invite you two, Detectives Mackenzie and Morse, to our wedding. Please keep the last weekend in September available, an actual invitation will come shortly. We'd love it if you guys could come; we owe you both so much._ "

Bobbi smiles. "That's really sweet of them. Should we go?"

"Well, I mean, it'd be rude not to go. They did invite us personally, after all."

Bobbi smiles and nods. "That they most certainly did. Plus, I'm sure Hunter would love all the free food that'll be there."

Mack chuckles and stands from his chair, moving towards the interrogation room. "Your husband has a real problem there, partner."

Bobbi smiles and stands up, following after him. "Tell me something I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks again, to everyone who's had some part in this story. You've all been awesome. :)
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!

**Author's Note:**

> So? What did you all think of this beauty so far? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Yes, I know that the names of his brothers in this story are not the same as the ones in the show. But this is an AU, and I came up with these names for his brothers long before they were introduced on the show. So I don't want to hear anything about how the names aren't the same. I know they aren't.
> 
> Not sure how often I'll be updating this one, but hopefully it won't be too long in between chapters. It's getting close to the end of the quarter up at school, so that's probably going to take precedence. But I promise I won't abandon this at all. I love it way too much.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out!


End file.
